subject: Seasonal: Adults-Only Strategy Drives Halloween Sales To $5B [print this page] Seasonal: Adults-Only Strategy Drives Halloween Sales To $5B
More than 63% of adults celebrate or participate in Halloween activities and the average consumer spends more than $59 on zentai , candy, decorations and greeting cards, per NRF.
Halloween has become the third biggest occasion for adult parties after New Year's Eve and the Super Bowl, and the second biggest decorating holiday after Christmas. Beer wholesalers anecdotally rank Halloween behind St. Patrick's Day, the biggest beer-selling holiday in bar sales, and just after the Super Bowl and New Year's Eve for store sales.
More than 31 million Halloween cards will be mailed, including Hallmark's Cards with Sound, which has expanded its audio clip line up by acquiring licenses for Pirates of the Caribbean and Nightmare on Elm Street.
"We see more adults participating because Halloween is a nonobligatory holiday," said Deirdre Parkes, a rep at Hallmark in Kansas City, Mo. "You don't have to cook a big meal or buy gifts. They just go out and have fun."
costume zentai is the candy industry's biggest selling occasion, with about
$2.2 billion in sales expected this year, per the National Confectioners Assn., Vienna, Va. Even salty snack brands such as Snyder's of Hanover are trying to muscle into sweet's share of the party with Snack Packs in pumpkin-themed packaging.
If you need more proof that Halloween is really for adults, here is the proverbial nail in the coffin: The 24th annual International Halloween Zentai costume & Party Show, where buyers from 50 countries will come to see the latest in licensed products and product introductions from more than 700 exhibitors, has moved from Chicago to Sin City. It will be held March 16-19, 2008, at the Sands Expo & Convention Center, Las Vegas, with scheduled events to include a "Fantasy Fashion Show" and "Sexy Zentai costume Fashion Show."
Halloween has even gone to the dogs and cats. Both Petco, San Diego, and PetSmart, Phoenix, have expanded their Halloween selections to include exclusive pet zentai costumes and accessories. Petco draws about 14,000 pets to its annual catsuit bash. PetSmart will host Howl-O-Ween, an in-store zentai costume party that includes a photo contest. About
