Get Excited for Halloween with These Fun Facts!
All Hallows’ Eve, or Halloween, began as a Celtic festival where people donned costumes and masks and lit bonfires in an attempt to ward off evil spirits. Over the years, the holiday has changed to be more about dressing up as your favorite character and lighting pumpkins for decorations. Today, Halloween is the second most commercial holiday in the US, creating one of the busiest shopping seasons of the year.
The National Retail Federation forecasted that Halloween spending by Americans will reach $9 billion, the second-highest level in the survey’s history. The NRF study, conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, “estimates that those celebrating the spooky day will spend, on average, $86.79 per person, up from $86.13 last year. And the survey, based on 6,900 adults, forecasts that at least 175 million Americans plan to celebrate somehow.”
Of the $9B, $3.2B will be spent on costumes – for adults, children, and pets. $2.7B will be spent on decorations and another $2.7B will be spent on Halloween candy. On average, most people will spend $25 each on candy. That equates to about 90 million pounds of chocolate for the season.
Did you know that the candy industry lobbied to have Daylight Savings Time pushed later into November to allow more daylight time for kids to Trick or Treat for candy?
Where do people shop for Halloween supplies? Forty-seven percent buy them in discount stores, 37.5% buy from Halloween stores and 25% buy supplies at grocery stores. Online shopping for Halloween supplies is picking up and will continue to grow as more and more people become accustomed to the convenience offered by e-commerce.
What about the pumpkins? Back in the days of the Celts, turnips and potatoes were carved with faces to light the way to peoples’ homes for the good spirits to find them. It wasn’t until Irish immigrants arrived in America and discovered the pumpkin, which is native to America, that pumpkins carved as jack-o’-lanterns became the norm.
Most people shop for Halloween goodies in early October, so stores must have items in place before then. Balancing supply with demand requires efficiencies in the supply chain so that stores have the right amount of product in the right location. Too much candy and stores will need to run sales after Halloween, causing them to lose revenues. Too few supplies and stores lose business to competitors.
Candy companies have had to ramp up production over the summer to meet Halloween demands. This means more ingredients have been sourced months early. Once the candy is produced it has to be shipped in temperature-controlled batches to retail outlets across the country and overseas. Shippers need to use a transportation management system (TMS) to make sure deliveries to stores arrive in time.
Kuebix gets the food and beverage industry, working with hundreds of suppliers to help them manage their shipments so Trick or Treaters will have what they need to enjoy Halloween to the fullest.
Don’t get scared by empty store shelves! Try Kuebix Free Shipper today to start rating, booking and tracking your Halloween products before it’s too late.
