Are Halloween Stores Profitable?

Basically, the Halloween holiday often occurs on the 31st of October every year in the United States. Halloween originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, in which they illuminated bonfires whilst putting on costumes to keep off ghosts.

In the eighteenth century, Pope Gregory III set aside the first day of November as a day to honor all saints, and the day was infused with some Samhain tradition. The evening before All Saints Day was called Hallows Eve, from which Halloween was coined. As time went on, activities like carving of Jack-o-lanterns, festival gathering, trick or treating, donning costumes, etc.

Halloween accounted for one-quarter of all candy sold in the United States. They are major retailers of Halloween costumes, decorations, candy, and other Halloween essentials, which makes them several bucks every year. Despite being around for only a short while every year, Halloween stores still generate a whole lot of profit during this period. 

How much can you make with a Spirit Halloween store?

Spirit Halloween is often referred to as the biggest Halloween retailer. They supply Halloween decorations, accessories, props, and costumes. The Spirit Halloween store was founded in 1983, had around 60 seasonal locations and was acquired by Spencer Gift. In the present day, Spirit Halloween now has more than a thousand locations across both Canada and the United States. 

The store has its own payment structure on an hourly basis, with a pay range of around $9 per hour for their helpers up to $17.84 per hour for their stock associates. Hence, the average annual salary range of a Spirit Halloween employee falls between $19,272 for a store clerk and around $88,497 for a senior designer, yearly. These salary figures are not exact as they are an approximate value. 

Spirit Halloween store sales figures are not public but its total estimated sales in 2015, according to financial firms moody’s fell around $400 million, which is a total sum of about 16% of the $2.5 billion spent only on costumes throughout the United States that year.

Still, based on those statistics, there is a steady market share. For the National Retail Federation’s (NRF’s) projected costume spend of about $3.3 billion in the year 2021, the generated revenue of spirit Halloween stores would add up to $528 million. Despite operating a website all year round, 90%+ of their sales occur from Labor Day on to Halloween. 

How big is the Halloween industry?

The Halloween industry is no kid’s thing. Statistics from the National Retail Federation estimate that residents of the United States spend a wholesome amount of about $10 billion on Halloween candy, costumes, and decorations in the year 2021, which is up from the $8.05 billion spent in the year 2020.

Let’s take a look at the spending survey released by the NRF in 2015.

For 2015, about 157 million Americans were recorded celebrating Halloween and the trending costumes were minions. Star Wars character costumes abound for adults, children, and pets included.

In 2016,Halloween spending reached an all-time high of about $8.4 billion, with the superhero dethroned princess being the top costume. 

2017 was another great year as the all-time recorded Halloween spending as released by the press amounted to about $9.1 billion, the same as in 2018.

The recorded spending for 2019 fell around $8.8 billion, and the 2020 Halloween was influenced by the pandemic but still fell around $8 billion. 

The Halloween industry is a rather profitable one from the fair surface statistics given. 

What makes Halloween big business?

Despite being seasonal, Halloween stores still make huge profits, especially the retailers. Halloween is back on the menu and this year we want it to be a trick or treat as we need more decorations and costumes for us and the pets. 

According to the NRF, Halloween spending will reach a new high of around $10 billion this year, up from $8.05 billion last year, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised most people to avoid trick or treating. 

The average spending of a consumer during this Halloween period is expected to fall by around $102.79. This is spent mainly on costumes, candy, greeting cards, and decorations. This is about $10 more than the previous Halloween .

According to the NRF, about 65% of Americans are looking positively towards Halloween, which is way more than the 58% in 2020 and slightly below the 68% in 2019. 

Also note, several factors contribute to the amount of money that Americans spend in preparation for Halloween. It is a rather popular and loved holiday that is celebrated all around the United States without particularity to any region, religious group, or demographic. Furthermore, the celebration demands the purchase of new costumes with different designs or meanings almost all year. There is also the need to buy new decorations, candies, and consumer goods. 

People will definitely outgrow clothes, so the celebrating family will purchase new costumes for themselves and their pets.

How much does it cost to start a Spirit Halloween store?

Ever had the thought of opening your own Halloween store? Well, with low starting capital and a non-long term commitment required, the program termed “consignment program” will be rather fulfilling. 

Here is how it works. Basically, Spirit will provide most of the requirements as they will;

Make available to the operator the best Halloween goods in the Halloween industry for you. Furnish the operator with several POS terminals needed to ring up sales and also restock merchandise during the Halloween season.

Spirit only takes a percentage of sales made. making payment for it and our freight all through the Halloween season. The operator in charge of consignment liaises with the landlord on his/her lease and buys all fixtures and supplies. Carrying out all its operations under the spirit banner while in compliance with the basic merchandising and marketing philosophy,

Other requirements include a simple contract from the two parties involved; a deposit that is expected at the signing of the contract; a non-permanent lease site often picked by August; automatic fund withdrawal done through credit card sales; etc.

So, a spirit Halloween store is not all that expensive to start up. Your expenses are basically those of a typical retail business. 

How does Halloween affect businesses?

The effects of Halloween on businesses and other commercial activities are seasonal. Take, for instance, Halloween retail shops. They are open only during the Halloween season, and upon the arrival of November, they begin to pack up and sit in anticipation of the next Halloween season. 

How does Halloween boost the economy? 

Halloween has an impact on the economy as much as the economy has on Halloween. It’s a debatable fact that the state of the economy of a nation affects Halloween more than Halloween will affect Let’s take an example from a nation’s down economy. Consumers will not spend on unnecessarily expensive goods like candy, pumpkins, and decorations for the home. 

A considerably fair number of economists believe that spending done during Halloween has a positive impact on the economy. This is because if there is much spending done, there is bound to be a higher GDP. This will boost economic activity, thus leading to job creation. 

It is also very possible that the sum positive influence of the spending of a Halloween consumer may be offset by the negative effect elsewhere. For instance, while some consumers expect an increase in spending around late October, they will also increase their savings the month before. it’s so as to make up for the expectations. This can equally lead to a reduction in overall spending around August and September. 

Is more money spent on Halloween or Christmas?

The holidays are a perfect excuse for families to come together to dine, party, and take time out for each other. Halloween is one such holiday, and by far, it has become a very big holiday in the United States. However, it cannot be compared to the world’s largest holiday. 

A data collected from 2010 estimated Halloween spending at around $6 billion dollars, placing it at the 7th position of the biggest holidays. Still, in 2010, statistics recorded Christmas holiday spending at around $135.16 billion, keeping Christmas in first place among the biggest holidays. 

Others are Father’s Day at $10.2 billion, Easter Day at $14.02 billion, Mother’s Day at $14.88 billion, Valentine’s Day at $17.60 billion, and Thanksgiving Day at $30.5 billion. 

These were strictly the 2010 statistics. 

Does Spirit Halloween put stuff on sale after Halloween?

You may be wondering if seasonal stores like Spirit Halloween do clearance sales. Well, your answer is yes, they do offer clearance sales, but with a catch. The spirit store disappears quite early after the Halloween holiday, so all sales after the last day of the Halloween month are final sales. 

However, It is also important to note that, for instance, if you buy goods from spirit stores after December 31st, they do not have a return policy on those products.

Leave a Comment