Just one in ten Brits has a local shop that they consider a good source of Halloween items, according to a survey commissioned by retail agency Live & Breath.
The survey of 2,000 UK adults, found over one in five (21 per cent) say that they would use a pop-up shop to buy Halloween-themed products if one opened near their home or workplace.
This increases to 36 per cent among the Halloween-friendly 18-24 year-olds.
Supermarkets also play an important role over this period, with 21 per cent of UK shoppers saying they buy Halloween-themed items from their local store.
Managing director of Live & Breath, Nick Gray notes: “Pop-up shops are ideal for seasonal markets like Halloween but aren‘t used nearly as much as they should be.”
Last year, YouGov research suggested British consumers would spend as much as £650m on Bonfire Night and Halloween.
He added: “UK retailers are missing a trick and could learn a lot from the US. Take Ricky‘s as a case in point. The online fancy dress retailer uses pop-up shops tactically, with around 30 temporary stores in New York for the Halloween period. The etailer also uses this as a test-and-learn exercise to identify where the most fruitful locations might be to open a permanent store.”
“Fancy dress and decorations shops are thin on the ground most of the year, and with 7,000 empty retail units in London alone, and the huge demand our research has identified, there‘s excellent scope for highly profitable seasonal pop-ups.”
Bonfire Night is another key seasonal market where pop-up shops could be valuable assets, particularly for Roman Candles, Catherine Wheels and the like: Live & Breathe‘s research also found that 61 per cent of shoppers celebrate Guy Fawkes‘ Night (jumping to 81 per cent of 18-24 year-olds) and eight out of ten of those who do so (79 per cent) buy fireworks.
According to the Financial Times, one business saw its online sales increase 300 per cent during its pop-up shop residency while another won a contract to supply John Lewis.
