Strategies to boost your Halloween sales

By a Staff Reporter

ARE YOU READY for Halloween? Of course, to a retail business, that means:  are you prepared to make big money during the season?

Now a new survey provides you with help in determining what you should stock and put on sale at tempting sale prices. It does so by revealing what the most popular items this season are.

After all, the Halloween season is a key moment for the $48 billion confectionery industry and its retail partners.

In 2023, Halloween drove $6.4 billion in confectionery retail sales and that number is expected to climb by three to five percent in 2024. Pandemic-era enthusiasm for seasonal celebrations has remained, pushing the Halloween season to begin earlier in 2024.

It does not take rocket science to guess that Americans will mark the season with chocolate and candy. You know, trick and treat and all that. But it is a surprise to learn just how many will do so.

The survey by the National Confectioners Association finds that no less than 94 percent of Americans are ready to treat themselves and others as they eagerly prepare for the Halloween season.

Not only that, but more than half of Americans start enjoying Halloween candy before October 31, which serves as further proof of the central role that chocolate and candy play in the spooky season.

"What would the Halloween season be without chocolate and candy?” asks John Downs, president and CEO of the National Confectioners Association,  “It is clear that Halloween candy is a bona fide retail phenomenon in 2024, with demand from consumers starting earlier in the year and extending festivities far beyond October 31.

“No matter how consumers choose to mark the occasion, there's no question that chocolate and candy are a fun and unique centerpiece of Americans' Halloween celebrations."

Other highlights from the survey:

• Scary sweet: 97 percent of Americans who welcome trick-or-treaters will hand out chocolate and candy, and two-thirds of those people say they give trick-or-treaters two or three pieces of candy.
• Haunting hankerings: Americans shared their favorite Halloween treats: chocolate, gummy candy, chewy candy, candy corn, hard candy, and lollipops.
• Get the party started: More than half of Americans start enjoying their Halloween treats before October 31, and more than half of parents say they steal from their kids' Halloween candy stash.
• A bite of fright and delight: Two-thirds of Americans enjoy treats with a creepy or scary theme. Shape also matters – Americans rank pumpkins, ghosts, and bats as their favorite of candy.

To sum up: Treating is the name of the game during the Halloween season, and consumers understand that chocolate and candy are best enjoyed as such. 

Put up those sale signs now and let the money roll in!