- This is because Halloween retail displays bring extra attention to your wares. It is also a great excuse to change up your displays, which you should be doing anyway.
- Whether they are real or fake, carved or painted, illuminated or etched, gourds are guaranteed to add a festive flair to any retail display.
- Make the most of the spooky season by tempting your customers at every turn. You can do this by dedicating end caps to show off seasonal items.
by Joanne Van Zuidam
Americans were expected to spend about $102.74 individually on Halloween in 2021, according to the National Retail Federation. This year may be a bit different, thanks to inflation, but only time will tell if that scares off consumers this year.
What we do know is that shoppers will be looking for inexpensive ways to celebrate the holiday, so even if you do not sell Halloween merchandise, your displays can honor the spooky season and spark sales. This is because Halloween retail displays bring extra attention to your wares. It is also a great excuse to change up your displays, which you should be doing anyway.
Here are five fa-boo-lous ideas to get in the spirit and brew up some sales:
Spice Up Displays with Pumpkins
Whether they are real or fake, carved or painted, illuminated or etched, gourds are guaranteed to add a festive flair to any retail display. Depending on your customer base, you can go scary or cute with carved Jack-o-lanterns or elegant with monochrome-hued gourds that match your décor. Their versatility is endless when it comes to display ideas — you can place pumpkins on pedestals, stash mini pumpkins in baskets, line ‘em up on risers, group them in windows, scatter them through existing displays, or place a bounty near your store’s welcome mat.
Makeover Your Mannequins
Dress up your store mannequins for Halloween by outfitting them in costumes or your own merchandise with a spirited twist. Women’s clothing retailers can display their mannequins in black or gray clothing and adorn with witches’ hats. Alternately, mummify your mannequins with white gauze or streamers, or simply toss a white sheet over them to transform them into ghosts. No mannequins? Use plastic, poseable skeletons instead. Clothing brands can also use them to model merchandise; eyecare or sunglass shops can use them to show off new frames; and florists can weave fresh or faux florals and stems through the bones of human or animal plastic poseable skeletons.
Provide a Heightened Experience
You can decorate your space without even touching existing displays. Black and orange balloons, lanterns, and streamers can all decorate a store without having to rearrange or move merchandise. Play with height on display tables and arrange candles on trays and risers, hang garlands and banners, or create a tablescape of cloches in varying sizes and heights with featured products underneath (optional: drape fake cobwebs over your merchandise). You can also make DIY cloches by using upside down glasses, vases, or acrylic display cases.
Lure Shoppers In with an Enchanting Entry
Adorn the front door with a seasonal wreath that can have anything from fall leaves to black feathers. Stash broomsticks in an umbrella stand or lean them against a wall and hang witches’ hats on hooks near the store’s front door. Create a whimsical window display using window decals, custom signage and backdrops, or just arrange your merchandise as normal and dot the display with Halloween trinkets, such as wrapped Halloween candy, mini pumpkins, or faux tombstones.
Entice Customers with Eye Candy
Make the most of the spooky season by tempting your customers at every turn. You can do this by dedicating end caps to show off seasonal items. For instance, pet stores can use the displays to feature costumes for four-legged friends; gift or card shops can create an arrangement of seasonal candles and fragrances; beauty supply stores can stock up with temporary hair dye, makeup, and nail polish; and hardware stores can hang a variety brooms from pegs.
Speaking of candy, American consumers spend a total of about $3 billion on Halloween candy. If you sell sweet treats, make sure they are front and center in countertop dump bins, specialty serving displays, basket displays, stacking candy bins, slatwall/gridwall bins — basically everywhere and anywhere. If you do not sell confections, putting a bowl of Halloween candy or a tiered tray of treats near the register will inspire good cheer and draw attention to impulse buys at check out.
Whether you go big for Halloween or keep it seasonally subdued, these creative display ideas will help generate engagement and increase sales. No tricks, just a treat!
Joanne Van Zuidam is a professional journalist, lifestyle content creator, and a retail industry expert at shopPOPdisplays.com, a US-based (with 2 locations in NJ and FL) leading industry manufacturer for over 50 years specializing in quality stock and customizable retail point-of-purchase (POP) displays and merchandisers.