With claims abound that Halloween is now the third biggest event of the year behind Christmas and Easter is giving customers a fright with in-store theatre something that local retailers really throw themselves into?
Bryan Craig
Londis retailer
We don’t get involved too much with Halloween, because there’s just not enough kids of that age in Crainlarich. It’s a small village and the kids that are here are just too old now and not that interested in it. Three or four years ago we would have done in-store threatre. It’s at the extent that the Halloween party that was hosted in the village has stopped. As a result we don’t notice an uplift in sales. We do the limited edition products and sell a little but it’s just for novelty for two or three weeks.
Billy Kay
Spar retailer
It’s been getting pushed for years now, and it’s certainly a bigger occasion but it’s something I tend to shy away from. All I do is get in the apple, nuts and pumpkins nearer the time. We’ll stack them high and when they’re gone, they’re gone. We always sell out before Halloween itself, which is ideal as I’ve found that afterwards remaining stock just doesn’t move. It’s psychological, people just assume it’s out of date. Things like masks and costumes we don’t do as everyone shops in town for them.
Shaun Marwaha
Premier retailer
Halloween is fantastic for us. Last year was strong and we’re expecting the same this year. It’s second only to Christmas in terms of events. We dress the shop up, get decorations out, hang things from the ceiling. It really creates a buzz and it gets customers thinking about Halloween, and talking about our shop, so that’s maybe where they’ll come for any purchases, and we’ll be ready, with toys, costumes and masks. We’ll be stocking up on the limited ranges available from suppliers too.
Stephen Carr
Nisa retailer
I’ve already got a full range of confectionery products out. When I placed the order I considered phasing them in but in the end I just put everything out and it’s been selling well already. I’ll move it to a more prominent part of the shop soon and expect sales to go up. Halloween was good last year and I think it’ll be the same this year, so we’ll get in a HOD from out toy supplier which will have costumes and so on in it, which I expect I’ll have to re-order, We’ll also get POS from Nisa to draw attention to it all.