Halloween is here; so are the spooky decorations, 12-foot giant-size skeletons, pumpkin spice lattes, & an infectious excitement. Additionally, for eCommerce store owners, this holiday happens to be the kickstarter event of the year’s holiday season.
Halloween, as always, will be celebrated on October 31, 2022. This year, the projections are higher than ever, following the success of last year. 65% of the US population took part in Halloween in 2021. Nearly 50% of consumers wrapped up Halloween shopping by September, while about 39% of them shopped until October’s second week. Also, in 2021, consumers spent over ten billion USD on Halloween, with a noticeable increase in the average expenditure per person.
These figures stand as evidence of the sales potential of this particular holiday. For eCommerce sellers, even a small share of this pie can be game-changing. That is why we have the top tips to help you get through this Halloween.
What to expect – Halloween 2022?
The market for Halloween costumes is expected to grow significantly between 2022 and 2027. Let’s look at the trends and projections around the upcoming Halloween celebration.
- More than two-thirds of adults have chosen their Halloween style as early as August, according to NRF research.
- Due to the widespread availability of vaccines (nearly 95% of the US population is almost immune to COVID at present) and the easing of restrictions as the worst of the pandemic passes, organizers are anticipating a record-breaking attendance to in-person events.
- 30% of consumers are looking at the internet for the newest Halloween trends in 2022, indicating that consumers will continue to resort to digital channels for inspiration.
- 20% of individuals use Facebook to look for Halloween-related inspiration.
- Shopping behavior related to Instagram and Tik-top-specific trends will likely be on the rise.
The stage is set! It is the right time for you to start planning. Most sellers will try to engage consumers with new product launches and discounts. So, it is imperative to find and implement creative ways to attract shoppers amid Halloween’s haunted joy and fun.
1. Spook up your online store with Halloween elements
Halloween is all about celebrating the scary, so your online store should embody the same spirit. Popular shock, scare, and surprise elements for website design include pumpkins, ghoulish art, skeletons, spider webs, and lanterns, and you can easily start incorporating these on your eCommerce website.
Here are some tips to prepare your eCommerce store for Halloween.
- Landing page banners are the first element shoppers will see, so make sure to add Halloween-themed banners on your landing pages. Consumers who like what they see will be more likely to buy what you sell.
- Include Halloween-themed copywriting on product pages (for example– you can go with phrases like ‘offers that are too scary to be missed, ‘want to get tricked or treated from us, and ‘an eerily amazing offer awaits you’).
- Revamp your email newsletter pop-ups and fill-up forms with a Halloween theme and give your visitors something interesting to see and engage with, such as Halloween special offers and discounts.
- You can also include the concept of easter eggs to add an element of surprise to your store.
- Schedule emails to remind your customers what they are missing. This tactic is very useful when attempted a few hours before a promotion ends. Plus, key phrases like LIMITED STOCK or 1 HOUR LEFT will add more urgency to the appeal.
- Add a spooky, Halloween-themed welcome coupon pop-up that catches shoppers’ attention as soon as they land on your website. To further sweeten the deal, you can include a Halloween-themed quiz or contest.
- Update your social media platforms, and don’t forget to add a special Halloween cover and profile photo for all social media platforms you are active on.
- You can launch a Halloween-themed social media campaign and put together your products & offers along with designing elements like zombies, vampires, and pumpkins.
- You can also share interesting Halloween content (photos, pranks, videos, etc.) and use engaging captions. Also, embed product links in them so the consumers can reach your products from the content.
Halloween is a fun holiday and thus a great opportunity for eCommerce store optimization in a unique way. Give a character to your store and establish well-thought-of copy and design elements to excite and engage your customers.
2. Optimize your online store
Shoppers love to splurge on Halloween products during the Halloween season, so your store should be more than ready to give them what they want. Start optimizing your eCommerce store to attract qualified traffic in large volumes.
Here are a few tips that you can incorporate to prepare your eStore for Halloween 2022.
Discount the right products
Costumes, makeup, and accessories are the most popular Halloween products, followed by candies, pet costumes, lights, and home decor. Prepare your store for Halloween by giving good deals and discounts on the most popular items people buy. You can also run combo offers and give extra discounts on multiple products.
Create Halloween-specific content
Write and publish content (blogs, articles, guides) related to popular Halloween search terms like – ‘Halloween Gift Ideas’, ‘Halloween Costume Ideas’, and ‘Halloween Makeup Ideas.’ This ensures your content is read by people searching for such keywords, and, in turn, search traffic to your online store improves.
Optimize for mobile
This Halloween, ensure that your landing pages, email pop-ups, offers, and other marketing elements are optimized for mobile devices. Nothing scares shoppers more than poor browsing and shopping experiences on the device they use most.
Plan your inventory
Start stocking the right products to prepare your store for Halloween. Think about what type and style of costumes, accessories, decor elements, and makeup products are most prevalent during Halloween. The idea here is to be well-prepared and properly stocked to meet sales demands. You will miss sales if customers don’t find popular products in your store.
Offer a dedicated Halloween section
Create a Halloween category in your e-commerce store where you can try consolidating all Halloween-related merchandise, making it easier for visitors to find items. This category can also include details mentioning discounts for your Halloween promotion.
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3. Market your online store
There’s no shortage of marketing ideas for Halloween, but the key is to pick the right ones and ignore the rest. To prepare for Halloween marketing and promotions, you must first understand your target audience and what they could be looking for.
Include these ideas in your eCommerce marketing strategy for Halloween 2022. Use a strategic mix of these methods and see what works for you. Once you find what’s effective, build on that to attract shoppers and sales.
User-generated content
Marketing works best when it is word-of-mouth. Getting people to participate in your Halloween-themed marketing strategy is a good way to boost sales during the holiday season. You can invite shoppers to share their Halloween selfies, scary makeup ideas, and weird costume hack in exchange for freebies and amazing giveaways. Including hashtags on social media is equally important to drive traffic to your page.
Social media promotion
Halloween marketing and promotions are incomplete without social media, so your eCommerce store should focus on getting maximum social value during the season. Start with running ads on popular Halloween products on Facebook, Instagram, etc. You can also run Halloween-themed contests on your brand pages and invite your fans to join in the celebrations.
Email marketing
Emails are perfect for showcasing your deals and discounts. If you already have an email subscriber base, prepare your marketing emails with Halloween-themed content and design. Start the promotional emails 2-3 weeks before the festival and continue to include product recommendations, deals of the day, sale reminders, and additional discounts to attract shoppers. For instance, use catchy liners like these.
“Hi *customer’s name*Halloween is here, and it’s time to get ready with spooky t-shirts and scary masks.”
“Halloween discounts await you, Get 40% on these items; Check out now!”
Influencer marketing
Collaborating with influencers who are big on followers is a good way to get your message to maximum people. Although cash-intensive, influencer marketing can get you a great return on your marketing money. Look for local influencers in your area and ask them to endorse your store or brand online.
Google Ads
Halloween season is a good time to use Google Ads as a marketing strategy. While running ad campaigns, you can specifically target Halloween-related keywords if you have a good ad budget. However, if you have budget constraints, you can simply update the copy in your ads & continue to target your standard keywords.
If you have special Halloween promotional offers, discounts, or specific products, highlight them in your ads. To inspire greater clicks, create a sense of urgency and FOMO by increasing the number of days left until the promotion or offer ends. Also, include CTAs like “Sale ends today,” “Get 30% off now,” and “Claim your freebie.”
4. Prepare exciting Halloween creatives
Halloween-themed cover photos, creatives, Instagram stories, tweets with engaging graphics, and exciting videos can do wonders! Make sure to prepare creatives in advance to get them rolling on time.
- To increase your posts’ visibility, use relevant hashtags such as #Halloweenoffers, #Halloweendeals, and #Halloweensales.
- Prepare exciting videos to grab the attention of your potential customers. Create videos to connect with your audience, instill emotions and give goosebumps. You can also add some spooky lines like “You can’t watch this ALONE!”
- Prepare creatives with eye-catching Halloween elements like vampires, ghosts, pumpkins, lightning, witches, candles, a spooky house, and much more!
5. Roll out your marketing campaigns at the right time
Using tools like Google Trends can help you get relevant data on the best time to start your marketing campaigns and promotions. The data we reviewed suggests that searches for terms related to Halloween and Halloween discounts are at their peak in the three-four weeks leading up to Halloween. Google trends also show a few related terms that gained popularity during late August.
This implies that if you are running any special campaigns or promotional offers on Halloween, it is best to run them in the last week of September and then until Halloween. Increase the intensity of marketing and the appeal of the offers as the holiday inches near. Make sure all Halloween-specific blog posts, social media content, and emails run throughout September and October.
6. Start selling on large marketplaces
As an eCommerce seller, you must already know what the top three popular marketplaces with the highest Halloween sales are: Amazon, eBay, and Google Shopping. Any potential customer can be found on these platforms, looking for decent discounts and unique products.
Thus, the best thing you can do is list your products on these marketplaces. Just be careful with the listing content (keep it natural but use good search terms as well), pictures, and overall optimization. Simply creating a listing on these marketplaces won’t do much good. You must focus on increasing listing visibility (organically or through ads).
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Summing up our guide on Halloween marketing and promotions in 2022
Halloween is an amazing time to be a shopper and a seller. And remember, you still have time in hand. All you need to do is just use the right tactics to escalate your store sale.
To make sure you tap into this huge opportunity, get started with your eCommerce store optimization and marketing using the ideas listed above. Hype up your consumers with the right content, market where your target audience can see you, and optimize your plans for every possibility.
We hope our eCommerce Halloween marketing guide can help you acquire more customers and increase business.
Need more help?
If you need professional assistance to prepare your eStore for Halloween, you can utilize our eCommerce support services. Our team can handle eCommerce store development, website design, product listing optimization, product photo editing, product description writing, social media content creation, and marketing activities. Get in touch with us to plan competent holiday sales strategies! We’d be happy to hear from you at info@suntecindia.com.
Frequently asked questions
1. Why is Halloween considered a golden opportunity for online stores?
Halloween is one of the biggest annual retail events with high return prospects. The event garnered $8 Billion in sales (in the US alone) during the peak of COVID-19 in 2020 and over $10 billion in 2021. This year, the expectations are even higher. From a marketing perspective, Halloween is a superb sales opportunity, so sellers start preparing for it months in advance.
2. When to start Halloween marketing?
Ideally, Halloween marketing preparations should start at the beginning of September. That gives you enough time to formulate and promote campaigns, prepare a strategy, and get your target audience interested in what you are offering.
3. How to optimize online stores for Halloween?
You can optimize your eCommerce store to attract better traffic and thus improve the chances of higher Halloween sales. Here’s how you can do it.
- Study the trends for the products that are more likely to sell this season.
- Discount products as per research.
- Publish relevant content (blogs, guides, newsletters) in the month before Halloween.
- Optimize your website or eCommerce store for mobile users.
- Revisit your eStore navigation path to ensure a comfortable browsing experience.
- To simplify a shopper’s journey, you can create a dedicated Halloween corner on your eStore. You can showcase all products on sale, discount offers, and payment coupons there.
4. How to market an eStore for better sales performance on Halloween?
Halloween marketing is different from general marketing. It is more hurried and time-specific, and thus, it requires on-the-spot ideas for a successful marketing campaign.
- Do a thorough, Halloween-specific user profile analysis.
- Create a social proof of quality via user-generated content.
- Promote vigorously on social media.
- Use newsletters and subscriber mailers to spread the word.
- Create and send authentic sales recommendations to users.
- Modify your already existing Google Ads copy for Halloween-specific keywords.
- Include your best promotional offers in Google Ads.
5. Should you outsource Halloween marketing & promotions?
Outsourcing Halloween marketing is a cost-effective way to expand your sales channels and marketing efforts. It’s also beneficial because your team gets the support of expert marketers, access to the best promotional and analytical tools, and 24*7 support until the event passes. But, that only happens when you choose a reputed eCommerce store development services provider.
If you are unsure, get a trial from the SunTec India team and make an informed decision.
6. How can SunTec India help promote Halloween sales?
We help eCommerce store owners with Halloween marketing campaign ideas, assist in the implementation, and follow up with careful observation and analysis. Our Halloween marketing services also include-
- Tweaking the branding to make it Halloween specific
- Launching a Halloween-based social media marketing campaign
- Creating or modifying Google Ads with new target keywords
- Creating content around Halloween elements
- Launching an email marketing campaign with Halloween-specific information
- Creating location-based campaigns to target local users
- Encouraging social media participation with engaging store activities and user content
- Creating a Halloween-oriented shop within your online store
All these benefits and more, without any hassle! All you need to do is send your requirements to info@suntecindia.com.
