Halloween has become one of the most important retail seasons of the year recently. According to the National Retail Federation, consumers were projected to spend over $12 billion in preparation for this holiday (about $108 per average American), which is up from over $10 billion the previous year. This sales season, starting about mid-August and lasting till the end of October, has become so important to retail that it has been dubbed it “Summer Christmas” or “Summerween” by various media outlets like CNN and USA Today.
Granted, a good percentage of Halloween expenditured for families will be on candy, costumes, and decorations. However, more and more, consumers are also looking to treat themselves during Summerween by using some their budget to pick up non-holiday related items for themselves. After all, Halloween is basically the last stop before the Eldritch Horror that is holiday shopping rises from the deep, and many people want to feel good about themselves going into that part of the year with an impulse buy or two.
There is very little downside for retailers to try to cash in on Halloween early, and having a plan is key to this venture. Here are a few ideas and strategies to help inspire Summerween sales:
Run Events Leading into Halloween. Many retailers try simply to do something special for Halloween on the day-of, and seem to ignore the run up to it. To make the most out of the Halloween sales cycle, start running Halloween-themed events up to two weeks prior coupled with running sales on items that seem to go along with the holiday. Examples of Halloween-themed events include running TCG tournaments for spooky prizes, D&D horror campaigns, and demos of horror-themed board games. These events, if done right, can be drivers for helping unload some summer release products that might’ve been sitting prior to the launch of the holiday season.
Run a Black, Green and Orange Sale. This is actually an age old concept that doesn’t see much modern usage among retailers, but it is very effective. It is a progressive shelf clearing concept where a retailer selects a group of items per month to mark down and as the months go on, new items get marked down and old items get progressively more marked down in an effort to cycle them out of inventory. As an example, in August, take black dot stickers and apply them to a group of items with a sign that says “all items with a black sticker are marked 10% off.” Then, in September, mark new items with green stickers and adjust the sign to say “All items with a black sticker are 15% off, items with a green sticker are 10% off”. Finally, in October, break out the orange stickers for a new group of items and make a sign declaring “All items with a black sticker are 20% off, items with a green sticker are 15% off, and all items with an orange sticker are 10% off.” This is an excellent way to cycle old inventory right before the big discounts of the holiday season; works great for TCGs, especially.
Sweetest Day. The beginning of the final retail run to Halloween is ironically almost ear-marked by Sweetest Day, so take advantage of this Hallmark holiday. This year, Sweetest Day happens on October 19, 2024. As the name of the pseudo-holiday might indicate, candy and date nights are a big deal on this day and there is a chance for retail synergy with Halloween. It would be the perfect opportunity to run a Halloween Season Kick Off event that lasts throughout this weekend, possibly with a couples board game night wedged in there somewhere. This weekend allows retailers to sell gifts to both couples and Halloween fans alike.
Make the Day BEFORE Halloween an Event to Remember. After leading up to the holiday, run a gamer Halloween party to remember BEFORE the actual day of Halloween. This year, Halloween falls on a Thursday, and more than likely, people have made plans on that day prior (trick-or-treating with the kids, parties, etc). Halloween Eve (October 30) may be a good time to do a gaming event featuring themed components like cosplay contests, giveaways, refreshments, etc. People generally enjoy getting more than one use out of their costumes, so a dress-up event might be welcomed by customers. The actual day of Halloween shouldn’t be ignored, but just reserved for handing out Pokemon TCG cards to the kids that come in (see “New ‘Pokemon TCG: Trick or Trade BOOster Bundle’“).
Source: ICV2
