Lowe’s, Party City start targeting Halloween shoppers
Two major retailers are following the lead of The Home Depot in promoting Halloween merchandise online months before the holiday.
Home improvement retailer Lowe’s Companies Inc. and party goods retailer Party City have both kicked off the Halloween sales season in June with online sales of themed holiday goods. They are relative latecomers to promoting Halloween compared to Home Depot, which ran an online-only sales promotion called “Halfway to Halloween” in April 2024.
Following are closer looks at how Lowe’s and Party City are celebrating Halloween, which takes place Thursday, Oct. 31, four months early.
Lowe’s
Lowe’s first drop of Halloween merchandise has been available on its e-commerce site since Saturday, June 1. The limited assortment of 25 items includes animatronics, plush toys, and decorations. Items are available to purchase in limited quantities online and will be available in Lowe’s stores starting Friday, Aug. 23, 2024.
More exclusive Halloween merchandise drops will begin in mid-August. This marks the earliest Lowe’s has ever begun promoting Halloween.
Party City
Party City began making select Halloween animatronics and décor products available for online preorder, before they are officially available online or in-store, on Thursday, June 6. This is the company's earliest Halloween release date yet, and 2024 is the first year customers can utilize preorder to secure seasonal products.
Special deals include 31% off all carryover animatronic items from 2023. According to Party City, the offering is in response to growing customer interest for earlier access to Halloween.
"We understand Halloween enthusiasts are looking to add that next spooky, tantalizing or unique piece to their collection before the season even starts," said Odette Welling, VP of merchandising at Party City. "Last year, customers shared they'd driven hours to find fan favorite animatronics and ground breakers, and they wished they could have them sooner, so the company hopes it's made it a little easier to for the seasons fanatics to get ready for the spooky season."
Home Depot, Lowe’s, Party City, and other retailers including specialty fabrics and crafts chain Joann have all begun promoting Halloween in the springtime as the holiday increasingly becomes a major consumer spending event. According to data from LendingTree, 88% of surveyed consumers planned to make purchases for Halloween 2023.
The average intended spending amount was reported by LendingTree to be $162, with parents of young children planning to spend substantially more at $245, on average.