All Treats, No Tricks! Here are 4 Spooky trends from NRF’s annual Halloween Report

Global

October 12 2021

Halloween is excitedly anticipated across the United States as Americans plan to send more than ever to make this Halloween a memorable one according to NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. Halloween sales this year are expected to reach an all-time high of 10.14 billion, up from 8.05 billion in 2020, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey.

Here are four spooky trends that can help you prepare for this year's holiday season:

1. 45% of consumers plan shop early this year

We are entering the world of "phygital" - where retail is physical and digital at the same time. This has been true even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Growth rates of online retail have been massive everywhere, so we can assume that a split of 50% online and 50% offline retail will be real soon. Therefore, the significant opportunities for the future of This Halloween, shoppers have started earlier than ever, with 45 percent of consumers planning to shop in September or earlier and another 39 percent during the first two week of October. This means that the holiday season starts earlier than ever, and this can lead to challenges for retailers. Inventory needs to be available and whether fulfilling orders online or in-store, you don’t want to lose any sales.

2. An estimated 65 percent of Americans intend to celebrate Halloween

That’s up from 58 percent last year. The top ways consumers are planning to celebrate include handing out candy (66 percent), decorating their home or yard (52 percent), dressing in costumes (46 percent), carving a pumpkin (44 percent) and hosting or attending a party (25 percent).

3. Remember, with great power comes great responsibility

The COVID-19 pandemic's disruption has turned retail upside down. The fact that stores were closed and customers The most popular children’s costume this year is your friendly neighborhood hero Spider-Man, with more than 1.8 million children who plan to dress as Spiderman. And it’s not just children – people plan to dress their pet in costume too, with the most popular pet costumes including pumpkins, hotdogs and superheroes.

4. 36% of shoppers are gathering inspiration from online search

According to the survey, 2021’s Halloween inspiration mostly comes from online search. While this might sound scary, 26% of all shoppers plans to gather inspiration from retail stores! This presents retailers with new opportunities to leverage fulfillment solutions such as curbside pickup, ship-from-store and buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS).

We hope we didn’t scare you off with these stats. Interested in learning more? Read the full report here. Do you want to learn how to always have the right products available? Click here