 Tricks to Make Your Halloween Sales a Treat
by
Flora Morris Brown, Ph.D.
Copyright 2005
All rights reserved
Halloween is an increasingly popular holiday. Perhaps adults are finally giving themselves permission to have fun. They are joining youngsters in dressing up, decorating homes and offices, trick or treating and having parties.
Although some cults may have adopted Halloween as their favorite holiday, the day itself did not grow out of evil practices as many believe. It grew out of the rituals of Celts celebrating a new year, and out of Medieval prayer rituals of Europeans. And today, even some churches are hosting Halloween gatherings to appeal to their flock.
According to a National Retail Federation survey, most shoppers spend roughly $44 per household on Halloween candy, costumes and decorations.
A survey of 100 basketeers in the Gift Basket Business World Newsletter revealed that only 27% have done Halloween business in the past, and only 19% were satisfied with their sales. 31% indicated that $11-$25 was the most popular price point. 45% of those whose sales were unsatisfactory gave lack of marketing as the reason.
Although consumers account for most Halloween sales, some basketeers raked in corporate sales from the insurance, real estate and banking industry. Most Halloween gift baskets resemble junk food baskets, with candy, cookies and snacks. Popular containers are pumpkin heads, skulls and witch cauldrons.
If budgets allow, add mugs, votive candles, a tape of spooky music or a scary movie video or DVD. A unique Halloween gift basket filled with treats can serve as a care package for college students away from home or nursing home residents.
For the budget-minded client, one basketeer stuffed a mailing tube full of treats. Others rely on stand-alone gifts.
There are some tricks to making your Halloween sales a treat.
1. Begin marketing Halloween gifts and gift baskets now. Some clients may be delighted with this type of theme, but would never think of it on their own. Send postcards, mention it in your newsletter, show a Halloween design on your website, and offer to add Halloween enhancements to October orders.
2. Don’t buy Halloween-packaged products unless you have orders or anticipate orders to justify this spending. Use your local retail sources to buy the typical trick-or-treat candy and cookies if you haven’t landed large orders by early October. Buy items that can do double-duty as Halloween and Thanksgiving items, such as pumpkins and scarecrows.
3. If you have inventory with Halloween packaging left over by the end of October, give these as “thank you for your business” gifts to your clients or as goodwill gifts to your service providers such as cleaners, mail carrier, accountant, and store clerks.These gifts, even if they don’t turn into cash in your pocket, will go far in creating orders for the future.
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