For most retailers, Thanksgiving and Christmas are the most wonderful times of the year when it comes to visit volume. But what about the stores that wait patiently for the spookiest day of the calendar?
In honor of Halloween, we looked into some costume favorites to see what fall’s costume peak time means for them.
Where the Party’s At
For retailers like Party City, Halloween weekend is a clear annual peak. Looking at Party City, the Saturday before the holiday accounted for a frightening 465.6% more visits over baseline 2017, and 475.6% more visits in 2018.
Naturally, Halloween season is when these stores make most of their revenue. In fact, when it comes to weekly traffic, Party City almost completely flatlines during the rest of the year.
If Party City can at least tap into other holiday opportunities, it could bring the off-season back from the dead with a much-needed traffic boost.
For those of us who prefer the DIY route, Michaels is the place to go. And indeed, the week before Halloween accounts of some of the chain’s highest traffic times. In 2017, Michaels saw 30.8% visits over baseline, and 26.5% in 2018.
And while there’s a significant dip after the holidays, the past two years have shown a healthy growth trend leading up to peak season.
(Grim)Reaping the Benefits
To make things a bit more interesting, we wanted to see whether other stores in the same shopping areas also benefit from the seasonal success of these Halloween giants.
When looking at a Party City in Paramus Place Shopping Center, New Jersey, we can observe the usual peak on October 27th, 2018, the Saturday before Halloween.
Kohl’s in the same shopping center also enjoyed a peak of 135% more visits over baseline on the same day.
Halloween week showed a significant jump, with a 38.4% increase in visits over baseline during an otherwise slow fall.
The same can be said for A.C. Moore in Paramus Place Shopping Center, which showed a hauntingly high 234.2% increase in visits above baseline the Saturday before Halloween, one the highest traffic days of the 2018 year.
Halloween week was the second-highest traffic week after Christmas for this store with a 52.7% increase above baseline.
Conclusion: Trick or Treat?
It’s clear that the spirit of Halloween hasn’t diminished, and that the holiday not only spells success for Halloween-centered retailers, but also brings a traffic boost to retailers around them. The trick for Party City lies in maximizing off-season potential and taking advantage of new holiday opportunities. If it succeeds, the chain will certainly be treated to increased traffic and better performance year-round.
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