Halloween shopping in 2025 is starting earlier than ever, with many retailers launching “Summerween” displays as early as July. According to the National Retail Federation, spending is expected to reach a record $13.1 billion, with consumers investing heavily in decorations, costumes, and party supplies despite tighter budgets. A recent Goodwill survey shows that 87% of Americans plan to celebrate Halloween with at least one activity — decorating their homes, attending parties, or handing out candy.
For retailers, this means plenty of opportunity. A creative Halloween display can draw shoppers in and inspire impulse purchases, even if your store doesn’t specialize in costumes or candy. Custom signage, banners, and window decals from VistaPrint can help you draw in more customers and create a festive shopping experience.
Halloween retail display trends for 2025
Knowing current Halloween trends for decorations and merchandise can help you plan your displays better. This helps attract more customers to your store.
Sustainable Halloween
Eco-conscious shopping is shaping Halloween 2025 in a big way. Per the Goodwill survey, 62% of adults who prefer DIY costumes shop at thrift stores, up from 53% in 2024. Goodwill remains the top destination, with 84% of DIY shoppers turning to its stores for affordable and sustainable costume materials.
Sustainability is especially important to younger consumers. Three in four adults (76%) say Goodwill’s focus on sustainability influences their decision to shop there, and the figure is even higher for Gen Z — 84% of young adults say eco-conscious values guide their Halloween purchases. With nearly 70% of adults prioritizing savings when shopping for costumes, thrifting is becoming both the smart and sustainable choice.
Social media is also fueling this shift, with 69% of DIY shoppers turning to online platforms for ideas. Pinterest leads with 34%, followed by YouTube (32%), Facebook (26%), Instagram (25%), and TikTok (24%). Many thrift stores are creating Instagrammable displays that showcase DIY costume inspiration while reinforcing sustainable shopping messages.
Repurposed décor and thrifted pieces highlight Halloween’s growing eco-friendly appeal.
Summerween
Summerween is no longer just a social media trend; it’s becoming a retail season of its own. Michaels embraced it earlier than ever in 2025, with searches for “Summerween” up 2,889% from June 2024. The retailer rolled out its Halloween collections as early as June, dropping product lines like Trick or Treat and Sweet & Spooky months before October. By July and August, shoppers were able to find moody and fashion-forward lines like Dead Regency, Iridescent Moon, and Alice’s Adventure, blending pop culture, gothic glam, and whimsical design.
This early rollout taps into shifting consumer behavior: one in three shoppers begins Halloween shopping between June and August, according to Walmart data. Even the National Confectioners Association has suggested that Summerween could evolve into the “fifth major candy holiday.”
For retailers, Summerween offers more than just an extended sales window, it’s a chance to experiment with colorful, cross-seasonal displays that feel fresh and shareable on TikTok and Instagram. Whether it’s playful poolside skeletons or eerie regency-inspired décor, the early launch creates opportunities to build excitement long before October.
Michaels’ Mad-Hatter-Ween collection transforms Alice’s Adventures into a dark fantasy, blending harlequin motifs, melting clocks, and tea-party chaos into Halloween décor. (Source: Michael’s)
High-tech Halloween
Technology is redefining Halloween decorating in 2025. Retailers are increasingly offering smart props, AR experiences, and app-based control systems that let customers create fully immersive displays. These products go beyond static décor, transforming homes and storefronts into interactive environments.
Home Depot’s Ultra Skelly is a prime example. This app-controlled skeleton features rotating limbs, LED effects, and LCD eyes with 18 different animations. Shoppers can even record their own phrases or use voice-changing effects to make the skeleton talk via Bluetooth. Ultra Skelly has helped build Home Depot’s cult following around oversized props, cementing its reputation as a Halloween destination.
Home Depot’s Ultra Skelly shows how smart animatronics, complete with app controls, LED lights, and voice effects, are turning Halloween décor into interactive experiences. (Source: Home Depot)
Theatrical yard scenes are also on the rise, featuring props such as fog machines, coordinated lighting, soundtracks, and animatronics designed to mimic stage productions. Spirit Halloween’s immersive store setups and Target’s “Halloween neighborhood” concept show how retailers are leaning into the experience economy, making displays more than just decoration — they’re attractions in their own right.
For retailers, this trend opens the door to premium pricing and greater engagement. Customers are willing to spend more when a display feels like an experience. Offering smart props in-store and highlighting them in action on TikTok or Instagram can create viral buzz while showing shoppers the value of upgrading from simple décor to interactive designs.
Tips for creating attractive and 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 remains at the heart of Halloween celebrations. In fact, the latest NRF Halloween report shows 66% of consumers plan to hand out candy this year, making it the top holiday activity alongside dressing up in costume and decorating the home or yard. Total spending on candy is expected to reach $3.9 billion in 2025, underscoring how central it is to the season.
If you sell candy, make sure it’s easy to spot. Dedicated displays at entrances or checkout areas can drive impulse buys. If your store doesn’t sell candy, consider giving it away for free. Even small giveaways create a festive atmosphere and can encourage shoppers to linger longer and explore other products.
Put your candy on display this Halloween to create a spooky trick-or-treating-inspired arrangement.
Chocolate still leads the pack, with 80% of candy buyers choosing it over other options, according to Mars’ “Tricks, Treats and Trends” report. M&M’S®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, and SKITTLES® are among the most in-demand seasonal candies, with limited-edition blends and Halloween-themed packaging helping to drive sales. While chocolate dominates across generations, Gen Z and Millennials are more likely to seek out fruity, gummy, or sour treats.
Retailers can also boost candy sales by leaning into themed sweets. Half of candy buyers report choosing Halloween-specific versions of their favorite brands, from pumpkin-shaped chocolates to bright seasonal wrappers. These limited-edition items make displays feel fresh, festive, and more likely to end up in shoppers’ baskets.
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.
2. Use skeletons as mannequins and 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.
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 and 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.
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
Take a look at the grocery aisle display. It’s a curation of orange-colored products, a hue often related to Halloween. A witch with a leaky cauldron completes the display.
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 display 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 decorated its mannequins with pumpkin heads to complement its fall-themed clothing collection.
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.
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. 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.
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.
The Halloween-themed garland 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.
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.
11. Bring in the bats, spiders, and 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.
spiderweb completes the Halloween window display of decal stickers — a cheaper way to decorate for the season.
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.
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.
13. Use witch props like brooms and 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
16. Use animatronics to create an experience
As mentioned, animatronics are one of the biggest Halloween display trends right now, and for good reason: they transform a simple setup into an event. Stores like Spirit Halloween and Home Depot have built entire reputations around oversized props and moving displays, while Target has leaned into branded “neighborhood” experiences that feel like a destination.
Bring this to your store by creating a retail theater. Set up animatronics with coordinated lighting, sound effects, and props that move or respond to customers. A giant skeleton at the entrance, a grim reaper that talks back, or a motion-sensor prop that greets shoppers adds a sense of surprise and excitement.
These immersive displays create moments that shoppers remember and share on social media. Think of your setup as a stage set, where every light, sound, and movement plays a role in telling a Halloween story.
(Source: Spirit Halloween)
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Click through the questions below to get answers to some of your most frequently asked Halloween retail display questions.
The best Halloween store displays balance eye-catching visuals with shoppable layouts. Use window decals, themed signage, and a few statement props to draw people in, then layer smaller decorations near featured products. Lighting and sound effects can also make the display more engaging.
Many retailers now set up Halloween displays as early as July to capture Summerween shoppers. Research shows one in three shoppers begins browsing for Halloween items between June and August, so launching displays in late summer helps extend the selling window.
Affordable displays can include DIY props, paper cutouts, thrifted décor, and reusable LED lighting. Retailers can also use modular setups, anchoring the display with one or two large pieces, then filling in with inexpensive seasonal accents.
Eco-conscious shoppers look for decorations they can reuse year after year. Incorporate thrifted items, recycled materials, and signage that emphasizes durability. Highlighting multi-season use, like LED lights or sturdy ceramic pieces, appeals to customers who value sustainability.
Shoppers are drawn to vignettes that double as photo backdrops. Props like oversized skeletons, quirky mannequins, or neon signage make displays more shareable. Adding a branded hashtag nearby encourages customers to post their photos on social media.
Summerween refers to the early rollout of Halloween merchandise, often as early as June or July. It’s fueled by consumer demand and social media trends, and helps retailers extend the Halloween shopping season.
Smart décor like app-controlled skeletons, motion-sensor props, and synced lighting systems are popular in 2025. Demonstrating these products in-store or sharing short video demos online helps attract tech-savvy shoppers who want interactive, immersive experiences.
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.
