Is there more to winning at Halloween than treats?
Hear from our Grocery Retail team on whether the trick to winning Halloween is just treats.
"Halloween continues to bring thrills for retailers. The four weeks leading up to Halloween 2016 brought an incremental £121million to the Total grocery market.
Spooky Brits spent an additional £96million on confectionary and a further £19million on goods from the bakery aisle in the lead up to Halloween. Pumpkins also had their seasonal peak, with sales adding £5million to the grocery market.
M&S successfully capitalised upon the nation’s festive sweet tooth, with confectionary sales up +22% compared with the previous year, contributing to sales increasing by 6.8% compared with the previous year.
However, winning at Halloween isn’t simply about treats. Offering a wider range of products, including fancy dress costumes, meal ideas and baking recipes, helped Tesco become the Big 4 winner (with sales up +4%).
Overall, the Big 4 struggled, gaining a lower share of grocery spend over the four weeks leading up to Halloween. Bargain stores were the beneficiary, with Lidl and Poundland enticing customers in with their everyday low price offering. Interestingly, it was the lowest affluent social classes having the highest over index on Halloween spend vs total grocery.
When it comes to shopping, the two weeks prior to Halloween generated the highest spend. Shoppers made specific trips, especially to Tesco and M&S, to purchase festive items. Furthermore, weekend shopping became even more important than usual, taking 32% of the total weekly spend (vs. 30% in an average week).
Halloween continues to firmly be a family-centric event. Families with children increase their grocery spend the most during the run up to Halloween, while multi-occupancy households (2 or more members) account for 74% of spend. Households without children however should not be forgotten, as adult celebrations and grandparents buying for others contribute to the overall Halloween spend.
With shoppers doing more trips specifically for Halloween, we can expect to see more retailers creating one-stop Halloween shops including wider product ranges, covering children’s fancy-dress costumes – looking to draw in those valuable households with children.
Furthermore, Halloween themed instore cooking or baking ideas encourages more items into the shoppers’ baskets. Finally, with Halloween falling on a Tuesday this year, the two weekends prior can be expected to be of the highest value – with shoppers purchasing last minute festive fun."