Podcast
Welcome to The Backroom, a window into what goes on behind the scenes as the Retail Dive team covers the stories and trends reshaping retail. You can check out all our podcast episodes (past and present) here and listen on Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio and Spotify.
Most measures of the holiday retail season include November and December, but there’s a spooky holiday at the end of October that is bringing in sales for many retailers in the fourth quarter.
Halloween has become big business, with spending last year reaching a record $12.2 billion, and this year on its way to topping $11.6 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. That research also found that nearly half of survey respondents began Halloween shopping before October, up from 37% five years ago.
Spirit Halloween, the ubiquitous if usually temporary retail chain, set its own record this year, opening 1,525 locations. The retailer, which recently got a send-up on Saturday Night Live that hewed quite close to reality, is now testing to see how its model works for Christmastime.
In this episode of The Backroom, Senior Reporter Daphne Howland and Senior Editor Kaarin Vembar talk about Vembar’s recent in-depth look into why retailers love Halloween.
Resource links:
- Let the ghoul times roll: Why retailers love Halloween
- Halloween spending to reach $11.6B this year: NRF
- Spirit Halloween partners with Uber for on-demand delivery
- Spirit Halloween tests Christmas stores
- Boo! 6 stories of retail hauntings
Editor’s note: This episode was produced and edited by Caroline Jansen.
