Ecommerce Guide to Halloween

This year has already been full of fright nights & unexpected events. We can all hope Halloween will be a chance for a whimsical holiday where the scares are as fun as they are creative. Halloween shoppers are also ready to spend money. According to the National Retail Federation, Halloween shoppers planned to spend an average of $92.12 for an overall projected $8.058 billion in sales.

Want to take advantage of Halloween shopping trends? Get your ecommerce store ready with these spooktacular ideas. 

Know Your Demographics

Before you launch Halloween sales or marketing tactics, make sure you know your demographics & stats. Research shows that 39% of shoppers ages 45 & under shop online for Halloween. However, 99% of consumers ages 55 & older prefer shopping & purchasing items in-store. 

Take some time to look through your online analytics to see where the majority of your customers come from, their ages, & what they’re looking for. Target most of your online efforts to customers 45 & under, or give those older shoppers a bigger incentive to shop your ecommerce store. 

Offer Spooky Sales

Online shoppers love a good sale, & Halloween is no different. To stand out from your competition, be brave with your sales strategy. A flash sale with rock bottom prices is one way to start. Or try launching a surprise sale every hour on the hour to keep customers coming back for more. 

Piggyback on Halloween Favorites

Costumes, make-up, & candy dominate the online marketplace during Halloween. But you don’t have to order scores of new inventory to meet the trend. Add a bag of candy, make-up sample, or spooky socks to a limited number of orders on Halloween. Digital downloads of all your favorite Halloween art, scary stories, or themed planner printables are also a low-cost way to delight your customers.

Adjust Your Inventory

Whether you’re planning to slash your prices or generate Halloween merchandise, you’ll need to adjust your inventory to prepare for an influx of sales. Unlike Black Friday & Cyber Monday, it can pose a challenge to figure out what your Halloween inventory should look like. 

Instead of ordering in different products you may not even sell, rely on a print-on-demand service like CustomCat to make quick adjustments to your inventory without the hassle. It’s easy to upload your designs to our hundreds of products. When an item sells, we produce it, fulfill it, & ship it out so you can focus on keeping your customers happy & making more sales.

Enjoy Bone-Chilling Fun on Social Media

Halloween is a spirited time to get active on social media & keep it fun. Add themed graphics to your channels, post your products alongside Halloween items, & engage your audience. It’s also an opportunity to run an irresistible contest. Ask your customers to throw on their costumes, tag your store in a photo or video post, & give away a product or service to the best dressed.

Add Themed Elements to Your Ecommerce Store

Get creative with your ecommerce store without reinventing the wheel. Add a few graphics or a pop-up with Halloween-themed images. A pop-up is also an attention-grabbing way to earn more sign-ups for your email list. Adding a photo or video of your staff, friends, or family dressed up in their Halloween costume is also a fun way to personalize your website with a festive touch.

Create Unique Gift Cards

Dust off those digital gift cards & raise them from the dead with a Halloween twist. Add ghosts, goblins, witches, and other seasonal graphics to a digital download or physical cards to send to customers. They make a fun treat for customers & offer an incentive. For example, sell limited-time gift cards for $20 that are worth $30 in your store.

Extend a Treat to Your Most Loyal Customers

While everyone else is focused on upcoming winter holiday sales, use Halloween as an opportunity to honor your loyal customers. Extend a valuable discount code, first access to a new product, or simply a personalized video thanking them for their business. Turning yourself into your customers’ biggest fans goes a long way to earning repeat business.

Host an Online Halloween Party

Who doesn’t love a good party? Launch a Facebook Live, go live on YouTube, or turn to your favorite online platform to host an online Halloween party. Get dressed up, talk about your sales, products, promotions, and keep it exciting with ongoing giveaways or rewards. The more you can engage your customers in the process, the more likely you’ll create a buzz & generate more sales.

 

What about you? How do you plan to uplevel your Halloween sales & turn it into a spooky, fun event? Let us know by leaving a comment below.