Halloween spending
At one time Halloween used to consist of a few sweets handed out to young ‘trick or treaters’ braving the dark night, with shivering parents along for safety! But nowadays, Halloween has grown into something of a monster and has established itself as one of the biggest retail events of the year, with spend in the UK in 2023 predicted to be somewhere around £700 million.An event for celebrating all things horrible, spooky, hilarious, and fun, Halloween provides a significant boost for industries and products which range from decorations to clothing, confectionery, and food.
Since 2013, UK consumer spending for Halloween products has more than doubled. In 2017, overall around £406million was spent celebrating Halloween and a year later, this had risen 5.5 per cent to £428million. In 2021, spending sat at a comfortable estimate of over 600 million GBP. Indeed, Halloween delivers a far stronger sales uplift than Mother's Day, Valentine's Day and New Year.
Taking a lead from Americans, Halloween has become a significant commercial opportunity - from clothing and costumes to Halloween snacks, cakes and sweets, decorations, face paints and, of course, pumpkins.
Inevitably, many of these items will end up in supermarket trolleys so are less likely to be paid for in cash.
However, it’s also worth noting that Halloween is still vey much about affordable ‘trick or treats’; confectionery sales saw a 50% + Year on Year rise on the Saturday before Halloween in 2022.
So, for the well-prepared C-store, Halloween can deliver a real sales treat, providing the opportunity to ‘cash in’ on a wide range of items including Halloween make up, banners, low-cost novelties and themed confectionery.
And of course, it’s important to ensure that the cash is available and taken care of - so schedule your Loomis deliveries and collections ahead of time.
About Halloween
Halloween originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, (a Gaelic word pronounced “SAH-win”), which was celebrated on the night of October 31st. The Celts believed that on this night, the boundaries between the living and the dead were blurred, and the spirits of the dead could return to the living world. People would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts.
In the UK, Halloween as we know it today began to be celebrated in the 19th century, largely due to the influence of Irish and Scottish immigrants who brought their own traditions and customs with them. However, it wasn't until the 20th century that Halloween became more widespread and commercialised, with the influence of American popular culture and the growth of the Halloween industry. In the 1970s, Halloween was still not a widely celebrated holiday in the UK, but was starting to gain popularity. It wasn't until the 1980s and 1990s that Halloween became more mainstream and began to be celebrated more widely in the UK, with the growth of trick-or-treating, pumpkin carving, and other Halloween traditions.