With Halloween just around the corner, retailers and businesses throughout the UK are celebrating record spending. This growing trend may signal a deeper change in consumer attitudes toward the holiday itself. Charlotte Brennan, owner of Bloom & Brew, tells us this year is her busiest Halloween season ever. Customers are getting into the holiday spirit earlier than last year!
As Brennan explains, “It’s been our busiest October on record for Halloween. Our shop and cafe have been busy, with lots of people eager to buy homeware and festive decorations. Ascolta la storia Shoppers are getting giddy over harvest 👻🍂🍁🍂 Just like their Christmas-themed counterparts, a lot of our customers have decided to go with the reusable decorative pieces to create their collection.
Fiona Eastwood, CEO of Merlin Entertainment, explains what to expect from this year’s Halloween season. She thinks that it’s become almost as profitable as summer high season at certain locations. This trend shows that Halloween has truly become a holiday with universal acclaim among many different demographic groups.
For organic farmer Andy Owens’ family farm in Herefordshire, the recent surge in popularity of visiting pumpkin patches has been a huge boon to business. In the three years since adopting the Halloween pumpkin patch in 2021, its footprint has more than doubled. Families from near and far come to the farm to buy pumpkins for Halloween carving, deepening the fall festive spirit.
“Halloween in this country has grown massively. When I was growing up there was barely trick-or-treating; there was just The Simpsons Halloween special on TV. Now it’s everywhere,” – Andy Owens
Consumers are buying pumpkins earlier than ever according to the National Pumpkin Association. According to Worldpanel figures, by the middle of a first week of October more than a million shoppers had already carved out pumpkin purchases in supermarkets. Over the last month leading up to this, sales hit a phenomenal £1.4 million. British supermarkets shelled out close to £1 million on pumpkins in the four weeks to Sept 29 to 2024. This figure is nearly twice the total they spent in the first 40 days of 2023.
Vikash Kaansili, a senior retail analyst at Kantar, emphasizes that Halloween spending encompasses more than just costumes and pumpkin carving. Compared to pre-pandemic years, retail spending on Halloween and all things cozy has jumped a staggering 37%. That’s only in the two weeks leading up to October 31st, 2024. Sales of candles and pajamas have jumped close to 20%. This growing trend is indicative of a larger cultural shift as more Americans observe Halloween with warm and inviting indoor celebrations.
“Halloween is no longer just for kids. The growth in sales of pyjamas and candles suggests adults are embracing Halloween as an opportunity for a night in at home, not just for children’s trick-or-treating,” – Vikash Kaansili
With households continuing to feel the squeeze from mounting cost-of-living pressures, Halloween’s unexpected toughness starts to make sense. Kaansili puts special emphasis on shoppers ramping up their trips during the last two weeks before Halloween 2024. Tripling their typical amount, they overshot their own average by 16%. This trend can be interpreted as proof that Halloween has evolved into a “can’t miss” event that people won’t trim from their plans.
During this episode, Brennan provides his insight on how consumer preferences have changed over the years. She remembers shopping when families would only buy cheap plastic decorations that they would throw away after the holiday. Perhaps even more importantly, she points out the growing consumer demand for products that are high quality and meant to be used year after year.
“When I was growing up, you’d get a couple of plastic throwaway items from the supermarket in the days before Halloween, and then they were binned,” – Charlotte Brennan
Halloween spirit is already at a fever pitch! According to retail data, a spooktacular 91% of consumers have bought items related to Halloween this year. Total Halloween spending reached £2 billion two years ago and is expected to grow even more this year.