This year’s Halloween shopping is happening earlier, with new color themes and more spending. A recent survey shows that 91%1 plan to celebrate Halloween with at least one activity (decorating their homes, handing out candy, or attending Halloween parties). This means a lot of shopping, so your retail Halloween displays should entice consumers to shop in your store—even if you don’t sell Halloween costumes or candy.
From eerie window decals to ghostly mannequins, we’ve compiled Halloween retail display ideas and trends that can help boost sales this holiday season.
Trends for Halloween Retail Displays
Knowing current Halloween trends for decorations and merchandise can help you plan your displays better. This helps attract more customers to your store.
Summerween
Last year’s Halloween spending topped even pre-pandemic numbers, reaching $12.2 billion, a 15% increase from 2022’s record of $10.6 billion. And Halloween is not any different from how back-to-school stats show consumers are shopping early.
So, start brainstorming for Halloween displays for stores ahead. A survey conducted in 2023 shows that 22% of consumers say it’s never too early for Halloween items to be showcased online and in stores, with the survey asking for dates as early as the first of July.
Michael’s Hippie Halloween collection released last June—its earliest release ever for the spooky holiday. (Source: Yahoo)
This is why retail giants like Michael’s, Target, and Home Depot are releasing merchandise and promoting the spooky holiday earlier than ever, driving a new “Summerween” trend—a blend of summer and Halloween.
Michael’s Summerween display in July. (Source: Reddit)
Consumers like this trend, as 30% plan to start shopping for the holiday as early as September. It’s a great way to encourage early spending among enthusiasts, too.
Summerween is a mix of lighthearted summertime fun (bright, fun colors) and a touch of Halloween spooky (“scary” mainstays such as skeletons, and ghosts). The hashtag #summerween has increased 2,400% in the past five years and has generated over 600 million views on TikTok.
Pinkoween
Halloween retail window displays can also benefit from a touch of pink this upcoming season. Pinkoween—pastel skulls, pumpkins, ghosts, and more—has become a trendy and catchy display these days. Consumers say it’s a great way to decorate their homes for the summer season well into the fall.
Riding on this trend also helps generate more sales, especially if you sell decor. The National Retail Federation’s 2023 data found that more than half of consumers planned to decorate for the holiday. This year is no different, with 65% planning to decorate their homes for the holiday. Of consumers shopping for Halloween decor, 90% are somewhat willing to shop from a store they’ve never purchased from before.
HomeGoods decor items (Source: Yahoo)
To decorate your displays, just think pink! Add touches of pink for your Halloween retail displays—pink Halloween pillows, pastel pumpkins, and pink-tinged Halloween coffee mugs. Even skulls, ghosts, hanging bats, tombstones, and coffin-shaped shelves can turn pink!
Target and HomeGoods Pinkoween displays. Sources: Target display from Instagram user @intheworkplace (L); HomeGoods display from Instagram user @itsdecorable (R)
Gothic Glamor
More and more adults are celebrating Halloween each year, spending even more on costumes than kids ($2 billion vs $1.4 billion) last year. This is why it’s no surprise that more mature Halloween retail displays will be a great fit if your business caters to older audiences.
Michael’s Halloween display. (Source: IG @letsshopholidays)
According to USA Today, searches for “dark romance” have gone up 51% since last October. Tim Burton movies are a perfect example of this trend. Think dark jewel color palettes—rich purple, ruby red, velvety black, and midnight blue.
Michael’s one of three official Halloween collections, Midnight Moon, caters to the traditional Halloween colors of black and purple. (Source: Halloween Forum)
Tips for Creating Attractive & Inviting Halloween Store Displays
After learning about Halloween trends, use the following elements closely associated with Halloween in your retail displays. Whether or not you sell or carry such items in your store, incorporating them into your decor will help convey that your store celebrates the season.
1. Incorporate Candy—Lots of It!
Candy is a major part of the Halloween celebration—60% plan to hand out candy, according to the latest Halloween spending and celebration report. If you sell candy, make sure you have displays where it’s readily available for purchase. If you don’t sell candy, consider giving it away for free to your customers. It’s a festive way to invite foot traffic to explore your store.
Put your candy on display this Halloween to create a spooky trick-or-treating inspired arrangement. (Source: Fixtures Close Up)
The same report said that half of shoppers plan to spend $51 or more on candy while 59% will spend that amount on food for Halloween this year, up from just 21% and 29% last year, respectively. Grocers will be wise to capitalize on increased spending by loading up their grocery store Halloween displays with candy.
Not selling candy? Here are some ways to drive sales by using candy in your retail displays:
- Since Halloween candy shoppers are known last-minute shoppers (seven in 10 will wait until the week of Halloween to buy their candy), encourage early shopping by including candy in your costume and decor offerings, and making themed assortments.
- Generate the FOMO (fear of missing out) by rolling out early-bird discounts and exclusive candy assortments early on and tag them as limited editions.
- For shoppers who shop the week of Halloween, position your retail displays near the checkout or at the store entrance and make sure they are easier to grab and go. Bundle items together at a discounted price (to attract budget-conscious shoppers as well). Ensure a well-stocked inventory and make your displays take center stage.
By bundling candy assortments in a bag, shoppers can easily grab one and purchase. (Source: Pinterest)
2. Use Skeletons as Mannequins & Welcome Decor
Like ghosts, witches, and mummies, skeletons make perfect mannequins. Dress them up in your apparel and accessories, or make them play a role in setting up a scene featuring your products in use.
Skeleton props are inexpensive and you can deck them out with merchandise to personalize them and make them perfect for your brand. (Sources: Pinterest (L); Yahoo (R))
No room for a full skeleton? Skulls work just as well—and they take up less space. You can use them to display accessories like hats, sunglasses, or jewelry, or simply as a prop to add some Halloween spirit to your space.
3. Display Your Products in Caskets & Tombstones
Set the stage for Halloween with a casket display. You can use tombstones in place of sandwich boards out front, or turn a display case into a casket like the example pictured below.
Create a shelf out of a faux casket for a Halloween-inspired display case. (Source: fohbc.org)
4. Curate Your Halloween Products
Start by identifying any products that could be considered Halloween- or even autumn-themed. For example:
- Products that are or have packaging that’s orange, black, green, or purple
- Candy or other small sweet packaged treats
- Anything with or related to pumpkin
- Products related to bones—for example, vitamins for bone health
- White sheets, as in ghost costumes
- Makeup and clothing that can be used to dress up
- Items that fit your theme
A brand uses the Halloween element wittily by using a black box coffin to hold its products and a play on a popular Halloween tagline, “trick or treat”—treat yourself, trick your wallet. (Source: Point of Purchase International Network)
You can also check previous seasonal sales reports to see which products historically sell well during this period and prioritize the ones related to Halloween.
5. Place Small Items in a Cauldron
Put products in a cauldron for shoppers to explore. Small items and inexpensive impulse buys are ideal for this Halloween retail display. Place them strategically next to your checkout areas to encourage last-minute purchases. Sticking to a theme can help create a focus for your Halloween store displays. It can spark ideas if you’re feeling stuck creatively and facilitates a cohesive execution.
You can also use cauldrons or jars as part of your overall Halloween window display theme, as shown in the images below.
6. Scatter Some Pumpkins or Use Them as a Centerpiece
There are so many ways to incorporate pumpkins into your Halloween retail display ideas. Here are some to get you started:
- Place jack-o-lanterns out front to welcome visitors—consider carving your logo into one of the designs.
- Hang products from your pumpkins for product displays.
- Put pumpkins on the heads of your mannequins.
- Paint pumpkins to be your brand colors and place them around the store.
- Use fake pumpkins and fill them with merchandise.
Ralph Lauren Kids used a big pumpkin to complement its fall-themed clothing collection. (Source: Zen Merchandiser)
7. Transform Your Product Offerings into a Halloween-shaped Element
Halloween grocery store displays can leverage their multi-colored products and shape them into a common Halloween element. In the case of the image below, bottles of soda were used to create a scary pumpkin decorative display in a grocery aisle.
Make a Halloween decoration out of your food items. (Source: Instructable)
Decor Ideas for Halloween Retail Window Displays
Your store’s window display, lighting, and signage should also reflect Halloween, as they are the first ones customers see when they are window shopping. Make them attractive and inviting to encourage customers to go inside your store.
8. Create Spooky Messages Using Chalkboard Signs
You don’t have to go all out—or you can add to an extravagant scene—with a clever message on a sandwich board or chalkboard outside your storefront. Have fun with this, and don’t be afraid to use puns!
What’s great about using chalkboard signs is that you can switch up your messaging every now and then, depending on your promotion, just like this local bookstore with its witty Halloween-themed promotions seen below.
Puns are a fun way to put a Halloween-ish spin on your store’s offerings. (Source: Pinterest)
Here are some ideas:
- No tricks, just treats—and Halloween sales
- Pumpkin spice and everything nice
- Halloween sale, no bones about it
- Creepin’ it real with Halloween deals
9. Be Creative with Window Decals or Paint
Decals are an inexpensive but effective way to bring new life to your retail window displays. For Halloween, you can write messages or use Halloween-themed decals.
Halloween decals are an inexpensive way to add visual interest to your store windows. (Source: Etsy)
You can also try temporary paint markers or commission a local artist to create something worthwhile, like how this local boutique transformed its window display for Halloween.
Source: Pinterest
10. Hang Garlands or String Lights
Hanging string lights are a great way to add curb appeal and can be adapted for any occasion. You can find Halloween-themed string lights that feature jack-o’-lanterns, ghosts, skulls, and skeletons—even eyeballs. Or, keep our first tip in mind and use string lights with Halloween colors.
These pumpkin string lights will make the perfect addition to your Halloween retail window display. (Source: Amazon)
Consider investing in a single set of string lights and dressing them up for each season—maybe you hang pumpkins and skeletons from them for Halloween, and then switch them out for ornaments and bells for your Christmas display, for example.
Source: Pinterest
You can also use garlands with text or color in line with the Halloween theme. The black beaded garland in the window display below completed the Halloween look.
Source: Pinterest
11. Bring in the Bats, Spiders & Spider Webs
Spiders and spider webs are also perfect for Halloween storefront ideas. And they’re much smaller, making them easier to work with. Put fake spiders and webs throughout your window displays, scatter them throughout product displays, and sprinkle them on surfaces like your checkout space.
A spiderweb completes the Halloween window display of decal stickers—a cheaper way to decorate for the season. (Source: Zen Merchandiser)
Bats, like spiders, can be small and simple to incorporate into your Halloween retail window display ideas. Use them as a focal point or an accent to your product and window displays.
Bats add a Halloween feel to any retail display. (Source: retail-week.com)
12. Use White Cloth to Make Ghosts
Ghosts are another seasonal fixture when it comes to Halloween, and they’re easy to execute if you’re on a DIY budget. All you need is some white sheets or pieces of posterboard and some scissors.
Just like with pumpkins, you can do a number of things with ghosts:
- Hang white sheets over mannequins to turn them into ghosts.
- Create scenes in your window displays with ghosts using your products.
- Hang cutout ghosts from signage, walls, lights, and other areas throughout your store.
Source: Pinterest
13. Use Witch Props Like Brooms & Hats
You don’t necessarily need to use a witch to make your store display Halloween-y—opt for their props, instead. Hang witch hats on lights and in other areas throughout your space layout.
Source: Pinterest
Witches also need a broomstick to fly on. For starters, if you sell brooms, consider making a Halloween-themed display around them. If you don’t sell brooms, incorporate them into your Halloween retail displays more creatively. Maybe they act as wayfinding signage or a prop for your mannequins to hold. You can also hang products from broomsticks on your window displays or in-store.
Source: The Shop Keepers
14. Mummify Your Mannequins
Add mummies to your list of Halloween displays for stores that replace mannequins. You can even use your existing mannequins—simply wrap them up with some toilet paper and you’re ready to go.
Repurpose your mannequins into mummies for an inexpensive and fun Halloween retail display. (Source: Pinterest
You can also use mummies as placements for products to give you an instant touch of Halloween. Display them in Halloween colors and you got yourself a winner.
Source: PopSugar
15. Play with Halloween Colors
Orange and black have always been associated colors for the season, and you can also throw in some green and purple to make it more colorful. Start by collecting all your orange, black, green, and purple retail display materials. This can spark some creativity while helping you stay on theme and on budget.
I love how simple and impactful this Lulu Guinness display is. It screams Halloween even without the needed Halloween decorations.
Source: Zen Merchandiser
This clothing boutique kept it simple and classy, just like the dresses they carry in store. They used witch hats with orange trims, a few brooms, and spider webs to transform their window display into Halloween.
Source: Pinterest
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Click through the questions below to get answers to some of your most frequently asked Halloween retail display questions.
Select a theme and pick out decorations that will help you execute it with cohesion. Props like cauldrons, pumpkins, ghosts, witches, brooms, mummies, spider webs, bats, and skeletons instantly create a Halloween vibe. Show these prominently on your window displays, but also make sure to add Halloween touches throughout your store.
Keep an eye out for Halloween trends, especially with colors if your target audience is reliant on them. However, classic Halloween colors (orange, black, green, or purple) are smart choices; curate Halloween- and autumn-themed products; and decorate with window decals, string lights, and pumpkins.
Organizing Halloween merchandise in your store involves categorizing products by theme and type. Use shelves, displays, and signage to clearly identify and separate Halloween items from your regular inventory. Ensure products are easily accessible to customers, and consider strategically placing impulse buys near checkout areas.
You can make Halloween decorations like cutout ghosts, witches, and tombstones from materials like white sheets, poster boards, and cardboard. Paint pumpkins in your brand colors or design your own spooky decorations.
You should aim to roll out your Halloween displays as early as September—after the Labor Day weekend. However, news shows that shoppers are shopping as early as August sometimes. If Halloween merchandise is especially relevant to your brand (grocery stores, costume supplies, home improvement stores), it is never too early—so plan at least 18 months ahead.
Bottom Line
Don’t let Halloween slip by as just a prelude to the holiday shopping season. Embrace the spirit of this spooky celebration with these Halloween retail display ideas. By incorporating the right colors, themes, and products, and by using imaginative props and decorations, you can lure in shoppers who are getting a headstart for the holidays or looking for some Halloween-themed retail therapy.
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