Holidays are not cancelled this year; Halloween and Christmas sales ramp up earlier than usual
In a year reckoned by a pandemic, the long-awaited holidays are getting an exceptional treatment
The holidays are coming early this year. Or at least, more people are channeling holiday spirit earlier than usual as interest for Halloween and Christmas decorations has ticked up since mid-summer.
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It’s been an unseasonably busy year for the holiday-decorating company Christmas Decor. Desire for Christmas embellishments even began at the onset of COVID-19 in March, when clients made requests to have their lights re-installed from the previous Christmas.
The Texas-based company, located in 300 markets across the U.S. and in Canada, knew it would be a particularly heavy year when a flood of leads for the upcoming season started coming in mid-June. Ever since, inquiries have ranged from 12 to 15 a day compared with only a flurry of summer leads in the previous years.
In a year reckoned by a pandemic, the long-awaited holidays are getting an exceptional treatment.
“We’re anticipating that the economy has been in a pretty good place and that it’s held up well, especially within our target group,” President of Christmas Decor Brandon Stephens told FOX Business. “I think that what happens is sometimes people just make a decision to spend more time at home. Maybe they didn’t or couldn’t go on a vacation this year. With all that money set aside, they are going big on Christmas.”
Credit: Christmas Decor
One of the major holiday party supplies and decor companies, Oriental Trading Company, owned by Berkshire Hathaway Inc., has seen an unusual surge in Halloween spending beginning in early August. Early indicators from Google’s paid-search ad queries show a rise in product listing ad (PLA) clicks from Halloween-related items.
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“The normal ramp we saw leading up to Halloween started five weeks earlier than typical,” Dave Lokes, vice president of marketing at Oriental Trading Company, told FOX Business. “That’s what has given us a lot of energy around Halloween this year, and we see it as a seasonal opportunity for us.”
In addition to early reads, customers are looking for ways to max out Halloween festivities and celebrations. According to senior manager of e-commerce marketing and head of seasonal campaigns at Oriental Trading Company, Kaelin Zawilinksi, more people are investing time and money into decking out their lawns this year.
“We are already hearing from our customers already and seeing just within our sales results as well as our search results that Halloween decor is on the rise,” Zawilinksi told FOX Business. “Having a bigger and more impactful experience for the neighborhood is something that we see this Halloween season.”
The online and catalog retailer has thus launched a collection of Halloween products designed for front yards and cater to low-contact trick-or-treating as a way to affirm that Halloween is not cancelled this year.
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“As a homeowner, the concept of opening your door to trick-or-treaters is a little daunting, and we didn’t want parents to turn off the lights and pretend they weren’t home,” Lokes said. “So this is a great way to get around that.”
The company’s new approach to a coronavirus-proof Halloween will play on experiential decorations and set-ups, conducting costume parades with driveway decor and table kits that keep kids away from your front door.
Credit: Oriental Trading Company
Products like candy graveyards, pumpkin and skull Easter eggs and candy-filled hedges allow trick-or-treaters to traverse the neighborhood with minimal contact. Other accessories include no-touch candy grabbers and bags with extended skeleton arms.
Credit: Oriental Trading Company
Credit: Oriental Trading Company
“We are really trying to push home these ideas with setting up different experiences within your yard,” Zawilinksi said. “This ties into Christmas with what we are seeing and hearing about people wanting to decorate in bigger and better ways.”