At Halloween, making an eye-catching display has always been a priority. However, last October, implementing the HFSS restrictions, which prohibited salty, sugary, and fatty treats from impulse purchase points in stores, posed a challenge for retailers. Because of the restrictions, it is imperative to create visibility for confectionery at Halloween.
The previous year's free-standing floor displays proved instrumental in successfully shifting Fruitella and Chupa Chups product lines. However, it is a comprehensive strategy from retailers around this time of year that usually produces the most remarkable results.
The most successful retailers make Halloween their prime focus and create their seasonal section into a one-stop shopping destination for anything and everything related to the holiday. This includes pumpkins, costumes, baked goods, and, of course, confectionery.
The essential thing here is to create balance and harmony. If you have a chain of stores, make sure that this office is organized according to a certain standard in all stores. In addition, it is critical to make sure that store employees change the display and decorations from festive to everyday when the time comes, as there is nothing worse than outdated tinsel from a holiday long ago. Thankfully, there are now a lot of specialized digital tools for developing and controlling displays.
The witching season is especially worrying for suppliers, as households must be especially mindful of their budgets, and pricing is a significant factor. So, it is vital that shops take advantage of this major retail event in the confectionery calendar and boost sales by stocking up on reasonably priced items suitable for both parties and trick-or-treaters.
It is crucial to plan promotional campaigns in advance, consider the mechanics, and buy enough stock. The key is to also correctly forecast demand so that you won’t be left with an overstock that you’ll have to write off or mark down when the season ends.
Retailers aim to increase spending from adults during Halloween by offering more than just candy. Alcoholic beverages are a popular item to purchase in general and also represent a great alternative to sugary treats when encouraging impulse buying. Beer, wine, and spirits are all available.
Adults are keen to join in on the fun, too, and themed alcohol is an excellent way of increasing sales – a point Brothers Cider proved last Halloween when their volumes rose by 58% from October to the following month.
Brothers had much success around Halloween owing to their Toffee Apple cider being prominently displayed in stores. They achieved this by providing grocers and independents with store media, shelf barkers, wobblers, and aisle fins. Many customers were attracted to the products, as the sales showed, so this strategy worked.
Additionally, the importance of planning sales and promotions doesn’t apply to just the main holiday items but also cleaning products. After all, every house decorated for the holiday will need to be cleaned up right after, so don’t miss out on these sales.
The easiest way to make the most out of the Halloween season and other holiday periods is to use specialized software. Such software will provide you with:
- Sales forecasting for future promotional campaigns, taking into account multiple demand factors;
- Automatic replenishment of stock for the timely launch of promotional campaigns in each store: no earlier or later than necessary;
- Timely replenishment of inventory during promotions based on current demand and sales rates;
- Effective completion of the promo campaign, subsequent evaluation of the campaign's effectiveness;
- Promotion calendar containing all past, current, and future promotions, as well as key promotion metrics;
- Automatic creation of promotional layouts, monitoring their effectiveness, changing them in a few clicks if necessary;
- Automatic change of promo layouts at the end of the campaign, instant implementation, and compliance monitoring in stores via the mobile app.
LEAFIO AI Retail Platform is one such platform, and it has already successfully been used by more than 180 retailers worldwide.
Click “Book the consultation” to learn about all the system's advantages. Let’s turn the season of horror into one of horrifyingly great sales.
