For special event supplies retailer Party City, Christmas comes early every year.
That’s because its biggest holiday is Halloween, and shoppers are typically eager to stock up on spooky skeletons, polyester spiderwebs, plastic creepy crawlies, candy and, of course, costumes.
With just a few days remaining until the Great Pumpkin visits neighborhoods, shoppers are making their last-minute runs to add the finishing touches to their ensembles and decor, said Julie Roehm, chief marketing and experience officer at the chain.
“What we’re seeing this year is it is more normal,” she told Adweek.
In fact, Roehm said Party City is cautiously optimistic about its performance this Halloween because 70% of mothers surveyed by the banner said their children would wear their Halloween costumes between two and five times.
“Our supply chain team could smell the coffee early on,” she said, explaining ships were chartered early, among other moves, to ensure their shelves were well-stocked.
The survey results also indicate there’s likely to be an uptick in gatherings versus last year, from school parades to parties, which means more decorations and more candy.
That doesn’t mean everyone is ready to embrace pre-pandemic behavior, however. “Even if the world is open, you will have people whose comfort is not there,” she said.
Trunk or treat kits, introduced last year as an alternative to traditional trick-or-treating, are still selling this year, Roehm pointed out.
As for this year’s top selling costumes, it’s probably not surprising to learn Michael Myers masks from the new movie Halloween Kills are among Party City’s top three pieces, while Spider-Man is another bestseller.
For families who want to dress according to a theme, Netflix’s breakout hit Bridgerton is proving popular, Roehm said.
Other top costumes include Ghostbusters, Wonder Woman, Scream and Money Heist, while religious costumes and particular decades such as the ’20s, ’60s and ’90s are performing well.
Alas, given their recent introductions, costumes inspired by the Netflix television series Squid Game or the movie Dune are not among top sellers, though customers can certainly find makeup and props to help them build their own looks from scratch.
In that vein, Party City provided shoppers with makeup tutorials by partnering with Academy Award-winning makeup artist Christien Tinsley to create looks inspired by themes such as Day of the Dead, Celestial Witch, Evil Pumpkin and Black & Bone. The retailer also offers over 40 pet costumes.
As for decorations, the chain’s pose-able skeleton, whose name is Yorrik, is once again selling out. “People’s ability to be creative with these skeletons is what have made them so popular,” Roehm said.
