Stores are putting Halloween products on shelves earlier than usual, apparently enticing consumers to spend more money.
Retailers like Costco and Home Depot are just two of the chains that began offering their products more than two months ahead of this year’s spooky holiday.
Experts point out that savvy retailers are embracing social media trends – in this case, following the TikTok crazes surrounding Summerween and Pinkoween – to lure in shoppers who previously cut back on spending.
Laura Champine of Loop Capital Markets visited Costco stores in Los Angeles and New York in March and April and said she saw the same Halloween items at both stores.
“It is clear that consumers are increasingly interested in purchasing Halloween products,” Champine said. CNN this week.
Retailers have started putting Halloween-themed products on shelves earlier than usual, seemingly enticing consumers to spend more money
Retailers like Costco and Home Depot are just two of the chains that started offering items for this year’s spooky holiday this summer
Stocking up on Halloween pumpkins and spooky costumes early is meant to attract shoppers, based on the idea that “if they’re not spending money in one area, maybe they’ll spend money in this one,” said Joe Feldman, a senior retail analyst at Telsey Advisory Group.
It’s no longer up to employees alone to decide when Halloween-themed products hit the shelves.
Donna Smith, professor and director of retail management at Toronto Metropolitan University’s Ted Rogers School of Management, said retailers could use “AI-driven programs” to determine when Halloween products will hit shelves.
‘Retailers often have [decide what to stock] “Based on historical numbers and various internet searches and industry trends and reports,” Smith told the Detroit Free Press until 2023.
“AI is replacing that in my opinion. Holidays like Halloween are huge revenue generators for retailers.”
Halloween is a popular holiday and it was estimated that American consumers spent more than $12 billion on candy and decorations last year, a record.
“It’s a holiday that combines shopping and entertainment — the ultimate combination of spending,” Jadrian Wooten, an economics professor at Virginia Tech, told Radford News Journal this month.
‘Spending is woven into this tradition, and retailers are happy to offer their customers everything from costumes and decorations to spooky snacks.’
Wooten called these spending “a double-edged sword.” They can boost consumer confidence and help the industry, but they can also hurt financial decisions like saving and investing.
Retailers have also decided to embrace trends like Summerween and Pinkoween, both of which emerged around Halloween.
Summerween comes from Gravity Falls, a Disney Channel series about the locals of a fictional Oregon town who celebrate Halloween twice a year.
TikTok user Sheri Wilson is one of many who has posted videos featuring fun Halloween ideas that are perfect for summer.
Her videowhich has been viewed more than 5.5 million times, featured orange drinks in pumpkin-shaped cups and burgers with pumpkin-shaped cheese.
Retailers like HomeGoods and Michaels have also embraced Pinkoween, a trend that features pink Halloween decorations.
“I love taking traditionally spooky elements like skulls, bats and ghosts and mixing them up with pink tones,” HomeGoods ambassador Keiko Lynn told Today in the US.
Lynn, who is also a social media influencer, even posted a tutorial on how to make a ‘secret witch hat‘ with pink and green fabric a month before Halloween last year.
Halloween is a popular holiday and American consumers were expected to spend more than $12 billion on candy and decorations last year
A Reddit user praised Costco’s animated werewolves, while sales of skeleton dogs at Home Depot skyrocketed after its Halloween collection launched last month
Starbucks has brought back its annual Pumpkin Spice Lattes earlier than in previous years, after retailers launched them earlier in time for Halloween.
While online sales of the new skeleton dog at Home Depot soared last month, Costco is now also selling products like Mickey Mouse pumpkins and animated werewolves.
“I love this year’s new Costco Werewolf! It retails for $250 and is outdoor friendly. That’s why I decided to get it,” one Reddit user wrote last month.
Michaels’ Chief Merchandising Officer also told CNN that the early Halloween rollout is exceeding “internal expectations.”
He added that consumer demand is driving the launch of seasonal collections and that this year it happened ‘earlier than ever’.
Other things consumers can do to celebrate Halloween early include visiting Starbucks for a Pumpkin Spice Latte and Petco, where they can choose from over 350 items for their annual Bootique.