Halloween Shoppers Hitting Stores Early as Celebrations Continue to Grow

Meijer sees 50 percent increase in customers preparing for weekend-long festivities; DIY costumes and outdoor décor continue to drive sales

News provided by

Meijer

Oct 12, 2016, 10:00 ET

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Oct. 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- With Halloween falling on a Monday this year, consumers will be celebrating throughout the entire weekend. Meijer is already seeing an increase in demand.

The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer is seeing as much as a 50 percent rise in customers taking advantage of early Halloween savings on décor, candy and costumes.

"Our store directors are reporting that their customers are very enthusiastic about what we have to offer for Halloween, which has really become an important seasonal celebration with trick-or-treating, pumpkin carving and costume parties all month long," said Peter Whitsett, executive vice president of merchandising and marketing. "Meijer offers a wide selection of Halloween items, so we look forward to helping them find everything they need for their weekend festivities."

The average person will spend nearly $90 this Halloween on indoor and outdoor décor, costumes and candy, and 7 in 10 consumers plan to hand out candy. Total spending on Halloween is expected to reach $8.4 billion, according to the National Retail Federation.

Top costume trends for this season include:

Adults: Due to the growing popularity of social media channels Instagram and Pinterest, DIY costumes continue to rise. Meijer will sell more than 80,000 masks and wigs, including emoji and presidential masks. Total costume accessories – makeup, wigs, masks and toy accessories – are projected up 50 percent this year versus last year.
Boys: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Marvel superhero muscle costumes continue to be the most popular. An estimated 70 percent of all boys' costumes purchased are licensed products.
Girls: Traditional princess costumes will continue to be strong selections. However, Supergirl, Batgirl and Wonder Woman emerge this year as popular girl power heroes in anticipation of upcoming movie releases.
Toddlers/Infants: Parents are enthusiastic about dressing their little trick-or-treaters up as pandas, unicorns and dinosaurs, as well as in Paw Patrol, Nemo and Shopkins character costumes.
Quick-and-Easy-Costumes: Step in or "bagged" costumes will provide customers with "no muss-no fuss" solutions this Halloween. Novelty items like Pizza, Bacon, Ketchup and Mustard are ever-popular for adults. New this year are the photo real supersize masks, such as monkey, unicorn and pug.

Top décor trends:

Classic to Creepy Halloween with pumpkins, garland, skulls, skeletons and tableware.
Bigger is Better with life-size lunging reaper, giant flashing spider and harvest welcome sign. Grave digging and zombies continue to be popular.
Animated/Lighted décor is more popular than ever with projectors, outdoor string lighting and indoor battery-operated lighting. This category is projected to increase by more than 30 percent this year.

Top 5 Halloween candy items:

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Fun Size
Kit Kats Fun Size
Snickers Fun Size
Brach's Candy Corn
Kraft Carmels

An infographic highlighting key Halloween trends is available on the Meijer Newsroom at http://newsroom.meijer.com/infographics.

About Meijer: Meijer is a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer that operates 230 supercenters and grocery stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin. As a pioneer of the "one-stop shopping" concept, Meijer stores have evolved through the years to include expanded fresh produce and meat departments, as well as pharmacies, comprehensive apparel departments, garden centers and electronics offerings. Additional information on Meijer can be found at www.meijer.com. Follow Meijer on Twitter @twitter.com/Meijer or @twitter.com/MeijerPR or become a fan at www.facebook.com/meijer.