Redefining Halloween During A Pandemic

While plans to trick-or-treat around the neighborhood or attend a big Halloween party are canceled, 96% of Americans still plan to celebrate the spooky holiday, with 70% seeking out an alternative to their usual plans.

This could be devastating news for candy brands and costume retailers who depend on this holiday to carry a large majority of their bottom line. Party City, which sells costumes and candy, is banking on a socially distanced Halloween that requires themed yard decor, like skull graveyards and signs to greet trick-or-treaters. With home makeovers and DIY solutions trending in recent months as a result of COVID-19, it looks like décor may experience another uptick around Halloween.

With a lot of the traditional, joyful moments taken out of Halloween, consumers are searching for alternative ways to experience the holiday and are therefore forming new holiday habits. Check out what these brands and retailers are doing to give new life to Halloween:

Walmart:  Walmart is transforming more than 100 of its store parking lots into “spooky street” trick-or-treat adventures that are contact-free and socially distanced.

Netflix:  Fans are invited to Stranger Things: The Drive-Into Experience, which welcomes ticket holders to become fully immersed in the upside-down.

Sierra Nevada Beer:  Hazy Little Thing IPA tells the real story of how craft beer came to be with some of the earliest brewers tied to witchcraft and mystical allure. Beer is not typically top of mind during Halloween shopping, but Sierra identified an opportunity to lean into its historic roots and make it more relevant for the holiday.

There is an opportunity for brands and retailers to redefine their roles and become relevant for Halloween. Brands and retailers that were typically not associated with the day can organically establish themselves as Halloween heroes by giving people an outlet to have fun and experience joy.

Contributed by: Brooke Hollander, Senior Strategist, Integer Los Angeles

Image Source: Pexels