Tony Lewis, sales director at Disguise, comments on how Halloween 2023 went for the company, what sold well, and the retailers who did well this year.
“Earlier in the year our pre orders for Halloween were strong, indicating a high level of confidence from our customers. Retail sales in early October were soft and this continued up until the Friday 27 October when purchases were accelerated. This significant uplift was experienced by both online and bricks and mortar stores.
“Retail sales remained very strong throughout the weekend before Halloween which resulted in very little stock been left over, and most retailers enjoying a good sell through over the whole Halloween season. Several customers reported retail sales as flat versus 2022, however given the economic challenges facing consumers and it was a Tuesday Halloween, we are really pleased with the result.
“Retailers who went big on Halloween, such as Asda, B & M and Home Bargains look to have benefited most, as consumers were looking for that one stop shopping experience.
“The usual costumes were popular, ghosts, zombies, vampires, and we are seeing the number of children wearing generic (un-licensed) costumes grow. This could be attributed to a couple of factors. First some parents/children do not want to dress up too scary and want to ensure children have fun during the event. Also, in these challenging economic times, where some parents have limited disposable income, they purchased a licensed costumes as an investment for multiple occasions rather than a Halloween specific costume which would be a single use item.
“Sales of adult costumes continue to decline as parents prioritised their children’s outfit first. The result is that more and more retailers are offering adult Halloween T shirts and masks, as opposed to full costumes.”
