In spite of an unstable economy and uncertainty going forward, the last few years have shown that Americans are resilient spenders. Last year, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF), consumers spent over 12 billion dollars on Halloween purchases. It seems even fear of a recession isn’t enough to spook Halloween enthusiasts.
For many adults, Halloween is a highly anticipated holiday marked by parties, trick-or-treaters, and the opportunity to escape the real world and immerse themselves in a socially acceptable world of make-believe. There’s a whole slew of people ticking off the days until Fall, eagerly awaiting the release of seasonal and holiday decorations and goodies.
However, lately those autumn enthusiasts haven’t had to wait until September and October.
Retailers have been bringing out the Halloween merchandise earlier each year. For some retailers, like Michaels, 2024 marks the earliest release of Halloween yet stocking their shelves in late June with their spooky collections. This is quite a jump from a few years ago when the earliest they would bring out cauldrons and skeletons was August.
Similarly, Halloween online sales pretty much started during the last week of September, but according to trend forecasting service Granularity, peak online sales have been inching back a week each year Since 2019.
Most retailers state their reason for bringing out the creepy commodities earlier is to boost sales during what is normally a slow sales period. On most polls, Halloween ranks in the top three favorite holidays in America. Retailers are jumping at the chance that most buyers won’t be able to pass up purchasing for their favorite holiday, regardless of the time of year. 2024 is the second year in which Home Depot hosted their “Halfway to Halloween” event on April 25 at which they sold limited quantities of Halloween items. Home Depot isn’t the only one, Lowe’s and Target also released Halloween items online earlier than previous years, jumping on the “Summerween” bandwagon in which spooks and summer BBQs share shelf space.
The marketing ploy seems to be working. The $12.2 billion spent last Halloween was a record high, surpassing the $10.6 billion spent in 2022. When we break the numbers down it comes out to an average of $108.24 spent per person. The majority of that was spent on costumes, followed by Halloween décor, proving there’s way more to Halloween than just trick-or-treating.
Halloween isn’t the only holiday bringing in the big bucks. Halloween may be one of the favorite holidays to celebrate, but when it comes to spending it only ranks in the upper top ten. Last year Americans spent an estimated $886 billion on Christmas purchases, $24 billion on Easter, and $23 billion on Valentine’s Day. All this goes to show that even during times of uncertainty people still want to celebrate and enjoy the holidays.
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