Hybrid Retailers Target Halloween Treat
Opportunity Knocking
Consumers in the US and other parts of the world are not afraid to open their wallets and front doors for Halloween, a holiday where spending on costumes, candy, and decorations regularly breaks the $10bn mark. The increase in consumer spending during the season is a great Q4 boost for retailers, particularly brick-and-mortar locations using reliable data to anticipate multi-channel trends.
Online shopping has taken a bigger slice of Halloween spending but still struggles to compete with the unique tactile experience of shopping at physical locations. In the US, a retailer’s aisle strewn with spooky costumes—those not selected by excited children or adults struggling for the perfect costume idea—is as closely linked with the autumn season as fallen leaves or jack-o-lanterns on a front porch.
A better understanding of the relationship between online and in-store shopping is also key for adjusting the layout of physical stores to ensure optimal resource allocation, which remains a major issue because of challenges in finding and retaining staff. A lack of clarity regarding layout and staff deployment can lead to long queues that unnecessarily scare customers away.
Surveys of Halloween shopping trends highlight an interesting dynamic between online and legacy retailers, one that many companies are trying to better understand. Most Halloween shoppers search for costumes online but buy costumes in a physical store, including holiday-specific pop-up shops.
The relationship between different sales channels is changing how many retailers measure success, as conversion rates sometimes fail to reflect the complexity of shopping in the modern era. Instead, data collection solutions that provide accurate multi-channel, chain-wide benchmarking of key performance indicators (KPIs) have become an industry-wide goal for all seasons.
Old Country with New Trends
A Celtic tradition, Halloween's link with Europe has strengthened in recent decades with the export of US culture. Long before Stranger Things, US entertainment— E.T. and Karate Kid alongside other less kid-friendly films—showcased the US version of All Hallows' Eve. Take a short walk on any of Europe's high streets today and you will likely encounter shop windows filled with mannequins donning the latest costume trends (witches and vampires for 2024).
The US is not the only country to see its autumn season celebration land on distant shores. Today you can find imagery and customs related to Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) far from Mexico. Often, elements of imported celebrations run parallel to local traditions, such as Saint Martins in Germany and parts of Switzerland, linked to unique shopping trends.
The result is the same: an increase in shoppers targeting seasonal products. Whether it's masks, pre-packaged candy, pumpkins, face paint or craft materials, mid-autumn celebrations present retailers in different categories with unique challenges and opportunities.
Since a costume with peak value on 31 October may be worthless the following day, retailers want to understand customer trends better, both in real-time and historically, to optimize inventory with date-specific value. Make sure the holiday becomes a treat and not a trick for your fourth quarter.
Tags: | retail | shopping | brick-and-mortar | customer counting | staffing
