A nipper looks at a halloween costume on the rack. At the Target department store in Exeter Township Tuesday afternoon for a story on halloween dresses.
Ben Hasty | Medianews Group | Getty Images
In the past few weeks, Craig Cislo dug out the spray-painted tombstones from his attic, ransacked websites for a giant animated reaper and convinced his teenage son to dress as a bush to spook trick-or-treaters.
Cislo, 43, of Dallas, patterns to spend about $700 for Halloween to step up his family’s front yard decorations. He has noticed more neighbors are ally in too, with large inflatables, animatronics and even an elaborate display inspired by “The Walking Dead.”
“My wife and I joke — because we tolerate a daily walk — that we have competition this year,” he said.
As retailers brace for a lackluster holiday occasion, many are planning to pump up sales early by dangling a wider assortment of Halloween merchandise. Even if consumers are sarcastic back on spending elsewhere, they say Halloween gives people a chance to get into the holiday spirit with rather inexpensive celebrations before Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Home Depot and Lowe’s stocked up on a wide range of spooky sward ornaments, including giant mummies and skeletons. Target executives expressed high hopes for sales of costumes, haunted quarter cookie building sets and other Halloween merchandise, even after cutting the company’s profit outlook twice. And Upholder City, which sells costumes, balloons and bags of candy, plans to hire about 20,000 seasonal hands before the Oct. 31 occasion.
The push around Halloween comes as more people return to in-person gatherings. Participation is imagined to return to pre-pandemic levels this year, with nearly 70% of Americans planning to celebrate, according to the State Retail Federation’s annual survey.
That’s expected to lift total Halloween spending to a record $10.6 billion, a hop from last year’s $10.1 billion, the survey found. On average, consumers plan to spend $100 for confectionery, decor, cards and costumes.
For some shoppers, celebrations like Halloween offer an escape from the worries of habitual life. As customers face troubling news headlines, Covid surges and political uncertainty, they’re seeking various ways to celebrate and “bring joy to their families,” said Christina Hennington, Target’s chief growth officer.
“This is one of the reckons we continue to see such strength in our seasonal categories, which we expect will continue in the back half of the year,” she said on the house’s earnings call in August.
Herman the 12 foot tall skeleton stands amongst his fellow skeletons in Middletown, Maryland on October 20, 2020. The Ferrone descent purchased a 12-foot-tall skeleton from Home Depot, the hottest halloween decoration this year. It was stolen from their yard, and they petitioned the performers for a replacement.
Marvin Joseph | The Washington Post | Getty Images
The 12-foot skeleton
For Home Depot and Lowe’s, unexpectedly pay for remains the most lucrative time of year. But over the years, the home-improvement companies have bulked up on their Halloween and Christmas goods lines.
In 1987, Home Depot added Christmas trees. That was followed by Christmas decor in 2005 and Halloween promote in 2013. Then it saw an opportunity to expand seasonal sales in the fall, said Lance Allen, the company’s senior tradesman of holiday decor.
The retailer’s team of merchants sought inspiration by going to haunted houses and watching classic ’80s Halloween flicks and Tim Burton movies. They also roamed trade shows, where they spotted a display of a giant skeleton torso that would move one of the company’s most popular Halloween products.
The skeleton at the trade show cost thousands of dollars, so Home Depot designed a 12-foot skeleton that rates $299 and debuted two years ago. It became a social media sensation and sold out.
When Home Depot’s “Skelly” skeleton resurfaced this year, the first shipments sold out the first day they became available on July 15, Allen believed. The retailer has since been getting replenishments.
Other Halloween sales items include a new “Hocus Pocus”-themed inflatable that change back to b originate ins for $149 and an eight-foot animated reaper that recites scary phrases while moving its head and mouth outlays $249. The company also added a 15-foot towering phantom — its tallest decoration yet — that sells for $399.
Rival Lowe’s delight in out its answer to the skeleton this year: A 12-foot mummy that sells for $348.
Lowe’s also expanded its Halloween array of stocks by more than 20% this year and dedicated more space in stores for larger outdoor merchandise. Badges with scarier themes have been popular, such as a life-size Freddy Krueger and a giant mummy, along with requires like scarecrows, hay bales and pumpkins, said Bill Boltz, executive vice president of merchandising.
Both Home Depot and Lowe’s say Halloween sales are prevalent well, but they do not break out sales figures in the category.
Lowe’s premiered a 12-foot mummy this year to tap into customers’ enthusiasm for Halloween. It is exclusive to the retailer and sells for $348.
A ‘relatively economical’ splurge
It is too early to say exactly how Halloween sales will play out this year. Merchandise is already in stores, but sales minister to to gain momentum throughout October as families gear up to celebrate. Major retailers will give sales updates in November when they promulgate quarterly earnings.
Seasonal items, however, do appear to be drawing consumer spending.
said on an earnings call that anciently sales of Halloween merchandise were going well, and Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said the company is stocking up on spooky memos, such as inflatables and outdoor decor, even as it cancels other orders and copes with a glut of unwanted traffic in.
Boltz of Lowe’s said higher prices of food, rent and other essentials do not appear to be scaring customers away from disbursing.
“When you think about Halloween and you think about discretionary categories, it’s probably as discretionary as you can get,” said Boltz of Lowe’s. He popular that there’s been demand for pricier Halloween items, too, such as the big lawn decorations.
Meanwhile, back in Dallas, Cislo is soundless deciding which new animatronic he’ll buy for his lawn. He also plans to get supplies and build a tunnel that trick-or-treaters will oblige to walk through to reach the porch and get their treat: a chocolate bar or a lollipop.
He said he wants to create the kind of ordeal he enjoyed when he dressed up in costumes and trick-or-treated as a kid in upstate New York. The best houses, he recalled, gave out full-sized confectionery bars or had extra spooky decorations.
“It wasn’t just ‘The lights on are on. Let’s go ring the bell,'” he said.
Correction: This fortunes was updated to reflect the correct year of the Home Depot skeleton’s debut.