The holidays are right around the corner as we creep into October with Halloween soon to come. An often slept on sales event opportunity at the end of October that can be a great barometer for what’s to come down the line for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, New Years, and other holiday pipelines.

Americans spent nearly $9 billion on Halloween last year and intend to spend about $8.05 billion this year while the average person expects to spend a little over $92 on Halloween. 

How do you get your share? 

While the majority of Halloween spending will be on seasonally specific items, like costumes, decorations, and candy, there is ample opportunity to leverage this for two specific reasons. 1) Revenue–consumers are scaling back a bit, but there’s still an opportunity to build momentum early in the season. 2) Engagement–getting your brand out ahead in the busy season could help you stay top-of-mind for consumers heading into the holiday stretch.

Halloween will look unmistakably different in 2020, however, the spirit is still there. Children and adults alike want to enjoy themselves, dress up, and have a wicked time.

Consumer Trends

Spending

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• Consumer spending has shown signs of recovery as categories like apparel continue to inch back toward pre-pandemic projections.

• While certain categories are improving, spending has remained relatively flat as a whole throughout June, July, August, and September.

In the North

• Canadian markets are seeing a significant climb in apparel, gifts, and jewelry as Autumn sets in and wardrobes refresh.
  

The Generation Gap

• Don’t count out Gen Z as a target demographic as many teenagers transition into young adulthood and develop spending power of their own, currently totaling approximately $143 billion.

Business Trends

The Economy At-Large

“Gross domestic product plunged at a 31.4% annualized rate last quarter, the deepest drop in output since the government started keeping records in 1947, the Commerce Department said in its third estimate of GDP. Output was previously reported to have contracted at a 31.7% pace in the second quarter.” - Reuters

Spotlight: Prime Day (October 13-14)

“This year’s Prime Day is expected to generate $9.91 billion in worldwide sales for Amazon.”

• Prime Day is expected to outperform last year as subscriptions have continued to grow and the online retailer has found great opportunity in a fast-adapting COVID economy that has seen the rapid adoption of online shopping.

• Shoppers plan to spend across a wide range of categories, but consumer electronics will likely dominate as people look for deals on big-ticket electronics that they’ve been waiting to purchase.

SMS Marketing

• SMS is a relatively green marketing channel as brands figure out how to navigate the foray into a consumer’s more intimate communication space.

• That said, the numbers are very promising as unsubscribes are very low for those who make it past the welcome series with high click-through rates.

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