Halloween is the fourth largest holiday shopping day for online retailers. Because of this, most ecommerce store owners prepare for it months in advance.
And this makes sense – given that about 40% of people choose to shop online for holiday items, and even more than that buy decorations for the following year just after a holiday to get discounts, it’s easy to see how and why Halloween is a big player in the ecommerce game.
Want the hottest 2019 ecommerce Halloween facts for this year? Looking for smart ways to improve your online Halloween shopping preparedness? Here’s your complete guide.
Online Halloween Shopping Factoids
Curious how Halloween impacts ecommerce retailers? Here are a few facts to know about this year:
1. Spooky Spending Ahead
Halloween retail spending was $9.1 billion in 2017; this breaks down to about 179 million people spending about $86.13 each throughout the holiday.
These numbers represent new heights and go to show precisely why Halloween is so popular among retailers: it’s a relatively inexpensive holiday, which makes it very easy for consumers to access.
While Christmas and Thanksgiving are commonly regarded as essential shopping holidays, they’re more expensive than Halloween and may appeal less to thrift-minded shoppers.
2. Candy is a Major Seller
In 2017, more than 70.6% of Americans purchased a few bags of Halloween candy, spending an average of about $25 each.
This expense goes hand-in-hand with costume spending, which breaks down to about $96 for men, and $77 for women participating in the Halloween holiday. Estimates state that about 50% of consumers purchase costumes each year. As if that weren’t enough, about 16% of people dress their pets up for the holiday.
3. Shoppers Are Opening Wallets
Halloween is a highly affordable holiday. As a result, people are spending more today than they did before the recession. Back in 2007, the average U.S. adult paid about $65 to celebrate Halloween. That spending dipped to $56 per person in 2009 and climbed back to $72.31 in 2011.
These are all great numbers for ecommerce retailers, and go to show exactly how popular the Halloween holiday has become and how big it stands to get in the coming years!
4. Popular Time to Shop Online
If you’re looking for a way to predict your upcoming Holiday ecommerce season, you’ll do well to pay attention to your Halloween numbers. Currently, about 20% of ecommerce retail sales occur over Halloween weekend.
While the official kick-off to the holiday shopping season doesn’t happen until November’s Black Friday/Cyber Monday, about 40% of shoppers begin holiday shopping before Halloween. Because of this, many ecommerce retailers start preparing for the Halloween shopping push 40-60 days in advance.
5. Younger Shoppers Dominate
39% of shoppers 45 and under shop online for Halloween, while 99% of consumers ages 55 and older prefer to purchase items in-store, a large segment of shoppers ages 45 and younger prefer to buy items online.
This preference owes to all the familiar draws of online shopping: convenience, selection, price and ease. Want to draw as many customers to your online store as possible this Halloween season? Be sure to offer perks like free and expedited shipping.
6. Year-Over-Year Numbers
As we mentioned above, last year’s Halloween ecommerce statistics reveal over $9 billion in purchases, this represents an increase from 2016’s $8.4 billion in total Halloween spending.
While the increase owes to more people celebrating Halloween (about 171 million took part in 2016, and approximately 179 million in 2017), it’s also the result of increasing per-person spending. That’s a lot of ghosts, ghouls, and zombies clicking “buy now!”
7. Online Searches Skyrocket
35.2% of people search online for Halloween inspiration. Social networks like Pinterest and Facebook are some of the top destinations for inspiration and social shopping and help in making purchasing decisions. Meanwhile, 30.3% of customers look for ideas in a retail store, and 20.4% turn to their friends or family for creative ideas about how to celebrate the holiday. In 2015, 50% of Americans used ecommerce sites to locate and purchase costumes!
Once they’ve got their costumes hammered out, these customers are ready to start shopping. While 64% wait until October to begin purchasing items, upwards of one-third of consumers start shopping in September or earlier! Fun fact: 24% of men wait until the last minute to complete their Holiday shopping, compared to only 17% of women.
8. Halloween Decorations Are Popular
Americans spend over $1.88 billion on Halloween decorations. Compare this to the $2.41 billion spent on candy and the $2.53 billion that goes to costumes, and it’s easy to see why Halloween is such a big-ticket holiday for retailers! If you sell any of these goods, be sure to begin your Holiday marketing plan well in advance.
Simple things, like promotions, sales, and coupon codes can go a long way toward drawing new customers in and keeping your existing shoppers coming back.
9. Costume Shopping is a Mainstay
71% of shoppers will buy a costume online, making this one of the most interesting statistics about online Halloween shopping out there. The top ten Halloween costumes include witches, Batman characters, pirates, Star Wars characters, vampires, zombies, and DC superheroes!
To make the most of these online shopping trends, a whopping 49% of online retailers launch holiday campaigns in the weeks leading up to Halloween. These campaigns may also include pushes for things like decorations and accessories.
10. Shoppers Love Post-Holiday Deals
Just because the holiday is over doesn’t mean the deals have to be. As it stands today, 57% of Halloween spenders will shop for holiday decor after the holiday ends. Because of this, stores that offer deep discounts on Halloween accessories and decorations stand to make significant profits in the weeks following the spookiest day of the year.
Infographic: Ecommerce Halloween Facts for 2019
Did you know that Halloween is one of the highest-potential shopping days for ecommerce retailers. Despite this reality, though, it’s commonly overlooked by retailers in favor of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and more.
When you buck the status quo and start treating Halloween like the major spending holiday it is, though, you stand to increase your company’s bottom line and grab your share of purchase-ready Halloween shoppers, thus setting the stage for a strong Holiday season!
Here’s your annual ReadyCloud infographic on 2019 ecommerce Halloween statistics and trends. Feel free to share it all you like.
