With an estimation of around 60% of families within the UK getting involved with Halloween this year, the expectation of retailers to meet demand is high. Alastair Lockhart, insight Director at Savvy Marketing believes, “Halloween has grown to become one of the most lucrative events in the annual retail calendar. In 2014 just over one-third of shoppers tell us that they are likely to celebrate Halloween, and based on analysis of our research, we estimate the event will be worth £283.4m to UK retailers this year. It‘s really not surprising that retailers continue to ramp up their investment in the event year-on-year, scaling up space and range allocation, and becoming increasingly ambitious in their in-store and online execution. The event also continues to attract new players to join the market each year.”
Halloween is offering a platform to broaden commercial opportunity. According to Savvy Marketing spending intentions over this period are estimating that costumes and sweets are worth £64 million and £54 million to the market respectively. Research also shows that shoppers are planning to spend a substantial £117 million on food and drink for parties and get-togethers as well as plans to spend £49 million on home decorations for the occasion.
Expect (if not already) aisles within supermarkets being dedicated to special Halloween related products. Asda has forecasted around 41 percent of their customers to get involved with the event, in comparison Morrison‘s expects 35 percent of theirs, whilst Sainsbury‘s and Tesco foresee 31 percent of their customers to get involved.
Lockhart continues: “In light of continuing weakness in the grocery market and an increasingly aggressive competitive threat from discounters, the importance attached to events like Halloween among the big four has escalated. These events allow the leading players to take advantage of their larger store spaces to inspire shoppers and create a little extra excitement, which discounters struggle to match due to limited space. That said, discounters have a proven track record of working the space they have incredibly hard, meaning that keen pricing will play a key role in determining this year‘s Halloween winners and losers. There‘s also growing competition from high street retailers to take account of, including from the likes of Poundland and TK Maxx.”
Figures from Savvy Marketing research show that 38 percent of customers are expecting retailers to have special offers and coupons related to the event as well as in store activity such as free face painting. Advance planning from retailers will undoubtedly help increase consumer confidence, with some Halloween shoppers intending to plan their purchases a week in advance to the occasion. Based on these figures, Halloween is certainly looking to be a profitable strong event in the trading year calendar.
