The 6 Best Halloween Products
The popularity of Halloween continues to grow year upon year in the UK, with children (and adults!) finding more ways to celebrate the festival each October.
Halloween spending in the UK will hold a special significance this year, being seen as a key opportunity for retailers amidst sticky inflation. The good news for retailers is that Halloween retail expenditure continued to rise in 2023 to £687 million and is projected to increase to £777 million this year.
This means that Halloween continues to be a profitable time for UK wholesalers and retailers alike.
As with every annual holiday, the Halloween shopping season starts earlier each year. Research shows that the majority of US shoppers purchase their Halloween products in the first week of October (with some starting even earlier!) The UK isn’t so different. British media regularly cover stories at this time of year about chains that start selling Halloween supplies early, so now’s the time to stock up if you want to make those all important sales!
The good news is that we’ve re-vamped(!) our list of the best Halloween products to sell to reflect the latest trends, perfect if you’re a retailer in search of spooky stock or a supplier looking to sell Halloween products wholesale.
Indoor Halloween Decorations
Haunted houses are a Halloween staple. That’s why so many people get into the Halloween spirit by covering their homes in spookily themed decorations and, as a result, they’re amongst the best Halloween products to stock.
Aside from the typical paper bunting, pumpkins, Halloween banners and hanging skeletons, there are some new trends emerging. Off the back of the popular Barbie film, pink is joining the traditional orange and black colours associated with Halloween. This means a bit more variety when it comes to decorations and even an opportunity to get crafty. We suspect paint pots and cans might be flying off the shelves this year as people have a go at pinkifying their pumpkins.
According to historic Google Trends web search data, people start looking for Halloween decorations as early as August with sharp uptakes mid-September, followed by a peak towards the end of October. So the early bird certainly gets the worm (or the snake, or the skull), when it comes to replenishing supplies of Halloween decorations.
Outdoor Halloween Decorations
According to purewow.com, outdoor garden decorations have been growing both in size and popularity recently. What better way to “keep up with the Joneses” than with a few tombstones, or a 12-foot tall skeleton?
This increase in popularity is also supported by Google Trends data, as searches have shot up in the last few years. Will “creeping out the Joneses” with Outdoor Halloween Decorations hit new highs in 2024?
Halloween Costumes
Halloween wouldn’t be Halloween without the costumes. As such, they are some of the most popular products to buy and sell around this time of year.
This year’s top costumes have been largely dictated by big films such as Barbie and Spiderman as well as TV series like M3GAN. Retail itself even makes an entry, with Amazon’s very own Bezos in Space making an appearance (CEO Jeff Bezos in a space suit and cowboy hat), according to bestproducts.com.
However, as they say, classics never go out of fashion, and this is also true when it comes to selling Halloween costumes. Grim reapers, ghosts, vampires being among the immortal favourites.
Whether shoppers are looking for full costumes, or some extras to put the finishing touches to their DIY costumes, there’s plenty of stock in our Halloween and fancy dress sections.
Google Trends reveals a resurgence in people searching for Halloween costumes. As with related searches, it looks like searches have already begun to creep up this year — so be sure to get those products stocked in time!
For a bit of bonus data, we also looked at the gender/age divide. It seems that (unsurprisingly) kids take priority: searches for “kids’ Halloween costumes” start earlier and have historically been almost double those of adults. And while there isn’t a huge difference in overall volume between men and women, it looks like the ladies are a little more organised… Perhaps no surprises there either!
Halloween Makeup
Halloween themed makeup products continue to sell big and are a great opportunity for people to show off their artistic flair as they transform into their favourite characters. Sometimes the best costumes come down to the makeup…
Popular Halloween cosmetic products searched for online include face paints, fake blood, vampire makeup, fake scar tattoos, coloured contact lenses and even fluorescent body paints!
According to Google Trends, consumer interest in Halloween makeup products starts a little later than other related searches, but forms a sharp, vampire-tooth-shaped increase by the end of October.
Halloween Party Supplies
If this year’s early start and last year’s increase in searches for costumes is anything to go by, people are in the mood to party! So it makes sense to stock up on those all-important Halloween party supplies before your potential customers start browsing.
If you’re wondering what sort of Halloween party products sell best: plates and invitations are always popular. Think spooky designs, napkins and Halloween themed disposable cups. If you’re looking for something more sustainable, there are plenty of skull shaped goblets and glasses to find in our Halloween products section.
Stocking up early is always advisable, but one benefit of party supplies over costumes is that they are less affected by yearly trends.
Halloween Sweets
Another year-round favourite which also sees plenty of sales at Halloween: the festivities wouldn’t be the same without sweets – and lots of them! Children take to the streets brandishing buckets as they tour their local neighbourhoods trick-or-treating, or guising (as it’s called up North!)
Most households will keep a reserve of sweets in store for their costumed callers, so Halloween is the perfect time to stock up on your confectionery supplies.
Popular Halloween sweets include branded classics such Haribo Tangfastricks and Haribo Scaremix, but some slightly more gruesome options pop up in related searches such as “eyeball sweets”. Yikes!
Our research suggests that, while Halloween sweets lagged behind other related searches in previous years, that date is slowly creeping forwards too.
Conclusion — Halloween Products
As Halloween in the UK continues to grow and pop up earlier in the calendar every year, it’s well worth stocking up on some popular Halloween products in good time.
Although it’s always a good idea to keep an eye on what’s trending using a tool such as Google Trends, it’s not necessary to re-invent the wheel when it comes to selling Halloween products.
Items such as Halloween decorations, classic costumes, sweets and party supplies never go out of fashion and are purchased by shoppers looking to celebrate the festival each year.
And remember, if you’re a retailer looking for Halloween products to buy wholesale in the UK, we’ve got an entire section of our online directory at The Wholesaler UK dedicated to them!
Happy browsing and an even happier Halloween!