Halloween Stores & Halloween Sales

buckguy
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Re: Halloween Stores & Halloween Sales

Post by buckguy »

Even in the Spring, there was uncertainty about where we'd be in the fall and I'm sure the purchasing for seasonal fall/winter merchandise has reflected this. There has been a shift in the packaging of Halloween candy in recent years, so that the emphasis is on fall motifs rather than necessarily a lot of jock-o-lanterns, witches, etc. as a hedge against doing as many markdowns after a weak Halloween. Easter seemed catastrophic, although that meant great candy bargains for quite awhile after the holiday. The conservative approach to Halloween buying is pretty understandable.

The Christmas stuff has been coming out a little earlier than usual and I wonder if it's partly a trial balloon to help buyers adjust their purchasing, rather than be stuck with overstocks or the wrong mix of things. The drawback to highly centralized purchasing, which has come with chain consolidation, is that when they make a mistake its much more magnified and has greater consequences than in the past when this was more decentralized.
TW-Upstate NY
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Re: Halloween Stores & Halloween Sales

Post by TW-Upstate NY »

Alpha8472 wrote: September 23rd, 2020, 3:54 pm Target finally added a Halloween section. The selection is much less than last year. It seems like Target purposely made the Halloween area smaller this year.
Was in my local Target earlier this morning and all I saw was a few clothing items for kids mixed in with the regular offerings-nothing really special or anything that would stand out like in the past. It actually seemed to me they have more of a halloween selection for pets this year than anything else. And about the whole halloween costume thing-I remember when I was a kid-my Mother was a pretty talented seamstress and actually made me my costume more than a few times. Aside from candy, never understood the whole business side of things connected with it.
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Re: Halloween Stores & Halloween Sales

Post by cjd »

buckguy wrote: September 25th, 2020, 6:17 am Even in the Spring, there was uncertainty about where we'd be in the fall and I'm sure the purchasing for seasonal fall/winter merchandise has reflected this. There has been a shift in the packaging of Halloween candy in recent years, so that the emphasis is on fall motifs rather than necessarily a lot of jock-o-lanterns, witches, etc. as a hedge against doing as many markdowns after a weak Halloween. Easter seemed catastrophic, although that meant great candy bargains for quite awhile after the holiday. The conservative approach to Halloween buying is pretty understandable.

The Christmas stuff has been coming out a little earlier than usual and I wonder if it's partly a trial balloon to help buyers adjust their purchasing, rather than be stuck with overstocks or the wrong mix of things. The drawback to highly centralized purchasing, which has come with chain consolidation, is that when they make a mistake its much more magnified and has greater consequences than in the past when this was more decentralized.
I noticed Christmas items already out today at Marshalls. Very few Halloween items there I don't think, although there were a fair bit at Ross. I expect Christmas to be cancelled this year as well, as there certainly won't be any difference with regards to the "V-word" so there may not be as much items compared to past years.
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Re: Halloween Stores & Halloween Sales

Post by Alpha8472 »

Walmart is setting up a Christmas section in addition to their Halloween section.

I do not see Christmas being canceled, but I do see people spending less on indoor decorations as family gatherings may be fewer this year. Tree sales may be down as well. The West Coast fires have burned down many Christmas tree farms. The prices of trees will be out of control this year. Outdoor Christmas displays will probably still go on. Drive thru visits to various neighborhoods will still be popular. There are entire neighborhoods that put up Christmas lights and decorations for drive thru visitors. That will still go on.
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Re: Halloween Stores & Halloween Sales

Post by BillyGr »

Alpha8472 wrote: September 25th, 2020, 9:04 pm Walmart is setting up a Christmas section in addition to their Halloween section.

I do not see Christmas being canceled, but I do see people spending less on indoor decorations as family gatherings may be fewer this year. Tree sales may be down as well. The West Coast fires have burned down many Christmas tree farms. The prices of trees will be out of control this year. Outdoor Christmas displays will probably still go on. Drive thru visits to various neighborhoods will still be popular. There are entire neighborhoods that put up Christmas lights and decorations for drive thru visitors. That will still go on.
And (at least around here) organizations that do drive thru lights as a fundraiser, plus I've seen a couple amusement parks (NJ & PA) already advertising their holiday events (the PA one is a first time thing).

Additionally, people do decorations for their own enjoyment in homes, and it seems unlikely that many families wouldn't still visit their own family members (unless it's just not possible).
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