5 key learnings from Halloween POS

The Halloween market continues to grow. 48% of the population purchased some Halloween items in 2014 and with participation in the event at around 65% of the population there is no sign of slow down. Mintel predicted that Halloween sales would this year increase to around £283 million. This is clearly an important event in the retail calendar.

From a POS perspective we wanted to see what we could learn and take forward to next year.

1. Halloween is fun

The POS we saw conveyed this well. But it could still be extended.

What we say:

• Brick and mortar stores can extend their advantage over on-line by leveraging fun. For example the simple and cost effective # photo opportunity with a standee in Waitrose
• We saw some great standees for new DVD releases and loved the impact they made in store. Halloween would be ripe for similar characterful delivery either from a brand or retailer perspective

2. Retailers took lead

Not least in the grocery and discounter channels. While it is right that they are heavily involved, brands should have more room in this space and we saw very little POS to support them.

What we say:

• Brands do Halloween packaging well and this is a growing trend but it could be extended to create more enriched in-store theatre through associated POS. Not least in the seasonal high spend areas of:
  • Confectionery and snacks
    
  • Alcohol
  • Party food

 3. Say it with conviction

Almost all did but we are taking Halloween Magic in Aldi to task. It might have said Magic but it didn’t convey it.

What we say:

• Design needs to work in collaboration with how it is going to be delivered. The message needs to resonate if it is going to have any value. There are a lot of costs associated with POS so it makes sense to maximise effectiveness

4. Look outside boundaries

For the second year Aquafresh took part in Halloween in Tesco.   The link being the anticipated peak in sugar consumption. They stood out as one of the few brands who reached into wider seasonal opportunities. We have seen similar examples of Flash cleaning products in Waitrose in December “Get your home ready for Christmas”.

What we say:

• Innovation is a great way to motivate shoppers beyond price
• First there are obvious autumnal seasonal opportunities for cider brands
• Bake off is a growing seasonal trend. We could see more direct links with Halloween going beyond baking alone
• This can be a tough season for pets and the trend for pampering in this area is growing. POS with emotive cues around treats are relevant (Dreamies did this). Brands could tap into promotional opportunities around the growth of pet clothing and fancy dress costumes

5. To POS or not to POS?

We don’t advocate POS for POS sake, it works well if it is done correctly. However we couldn’t help but notice the difference between the Halloween delivery in 99p Stores and Poundland. Both were city centre stores with a similar footprint area. Like last year, Poundland pulled the stops out in its Halloween execution. 99p Stores while having a large and tidy range, was stark by comparison.

What we say: There could have been a number of reasons why shoppers were having more fun in Poundland but we believe POS had a positive contributory role in creating this ambience which will undoubtedly lead to greater sales. As we said earlier, this is a fun season and so brick and mortar stores are in a good position to take full advantage of this

As part of our seasonal snapshot series we visited almost 60 retailers and have included around 400 photos for Halloween. If this is of interest or for more information hello@posinsights.co.uk

Sources: Mintel, Conlumino

Categorised in: POS, Shopper Insights

This post was written by Dawn Odoi