Is Halloween Selling Creeping Too Early?

Petco moved up the unveiling of its annual “Bootique” collection, featuring a range of pet costumes, toys, accessories, and treats, to Aug. 1 this year from Aug. 31 in 2022, continuing a trend toward Halloween sales arriving earlier and earlier.

The trajectory follows the “Christmas creep” that sees holiday sales arriving in September or earlier, with Halloween assortments likewise arriving several months before October 31.

A Modern Retail article notes how Bath & Body Works, Home Depot, Target, and Michaels all began offering Halloween merchandise this year in July.

The early selling particularly supports the decorating of homes for Halloween, which is the second-most decorated holiday behind Christmas. According to the NRF’s Halloween survey from 2022, 51% of respondents planned to decorate their home or yard in celebration.

Spirit Halloween, which began opening its planned 1,500 temporary stores for 2023 in late July, suggested in a blog entry, “While some people wait until the beginning of October, we recommend starting to decorate earlier. In fact, it’s fun to gradually introduce your Halloween decorations.”

Other ways consumers planned to celebrate Halloween include handing out candy (67%), dressing up in costume (47%), carving a pumpkin (44%), and throwing or attending a Halloween party (28%), according to the NRF’s 2022 survey. Additionally, one in five respondents planned to dress their pet up in a costume. 

Similar to recent years, Halloween enthusiasts were once again starting their shopping early, with nearly half (47%) beginning in September or earlier.

Overall, Halloween ranks as the sixth highest-spending commercial holiday, behind Christmas, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and Easter, although Halloween’s popularity continues to surge. According to the NRF, U.S. spending around Halloween was estimated to have been $10.6 billion in 2022, up 25% from a decade earlier.

The major sales of candy and costumes are expected to happen closer to the event, but even those purchase occasions are happening earlier than in the past. A survey last year conducted on behalf of The Hershey Company found that 60% of Americans (and 70% of parents with children under the age of 18) agree that it is socially acceptable to start celebrating Halloween before October.