5 SCARILY EFFECTIVE HALLOWEEN ACTIVATION IDEAS TO SINK-YOUR-TEETH INTO
- jake2584
- Nov 6
- 5 min read
Halloween isn’t just a dress-up moment for kids, it’s a fast-growing retail season that can make a real difference to annual sales. In the UK, supermarkets reported that confectionery sales alone jumped by 16.7% in October 2023 [1], showing the pulling power of seasonal excitement even in tough economic conditions. Grocery as a whole also feels the lift: in Ireland, Halloween ranges helped boost sales by over 6%, with online grocery up nearly 12% year-on-year [2].
The categories that win most are sweets, snacks, drinks, and party ranges, but cross-category opportunities (from desserts to decorations) and categories that you wouldn’t necessarily expect to be linked to the moment, are growing their involvement as shoppers lean into the seasonal occasion.
Here are five shopper activations ideas that we believe lead the way in shopper engagement this Halloween.
1. Charm with Limited-Edition Product Lines & Packaging
One of the easiest ways to catch shoppers’ attention in October is with something they can’t get any other time of year. Limited-edition products give familiar categories a seasonal twist. Think blood-orange sodas, ghost-shaped biscuits, pumpkin-themed cakes, or special packaging for existing flavours. These lines trade on novelty and urgency: people know they’ve only got a short window to buy before they’re gone. 38% of food or grocery shoppers in the UK say they are more likely to buy items that are limited-edition [3].
Packaging plays a huge role. Glow-in-the-dark labels, spooky motifs, or gothic graphics don’t just make the product pop on shelf, they often double as seasonal décor once brought home. This gives shoppers the extra incentive to buy products for people to gift, give away to Trick or Treaters or to elevate their party prep. Packaging can influence 72% of consumer purchase decisions [4], so brands adopting special packs can be scarily effective for sales.
Some brands take it further with crossovers. A snack turned into a condiment, or a sweet brand dropping a spooky collab. These mash-ups fuel talk-ability and get shoppers sharing on socials, all while driving purchase.
2. Put a Spell on Shoppers with On-pack Promotions & Thrilling Giveaways
Halloween packaging and products doesn’t just have to look good; it can work harder too. Prizes with spooky games, or instant wins all incentivise purchase and repeat buys. With promotions now making up nearly 30% of total UK grocery sales [5], the right mix of limited editions, immersive displays, and retailer-exclusive prizes can bring both value and volume at Halloween.
Most recently the we worked on an M&M's x Disneyland Paris promotional activation that combined a relevant partnership, with an on-pack giveaway, and lots of supporting theatre, to really hit several engaging angles for shoppers to get excited about. Check out the full case study here.
Brands are also finding clever ways to tie packs into social behaviour: carving contests, “share your scariest bake” competitions, or challenges linked to TikTok and Instagram. Limited Edition packaging (different characters or spooky scenes across a product line) taps into the “collect them all” mindset, especially effective with kids and families. The trick is to make the product itself feel like part moment.
3. Enchant with Themed Displays & In-Store Theatre
Creating immersive Halloween zones or dramatic end-of-aisle displays is more than a fun afterthought. Dramatic displays can shift sales in giant proportions. Research shows imaginative displays increase purchase likelihood. For example, shoppers were 48% more likely to buy chocolates when faced with themed, creative displays vs standard ones, and higher ROI (53% increase in some cases) in grocery settings [6]. Create a branded Halloween zone you can own, direct shoppers with playful signage and create sampling and photo-ops for more ways to jump into the minds of your target shoppers.
On the retailer side, supermarkets take a broad view. Pulling together everything Halloween under one roof: pumpkins, face paints, costumes, décor, snacks, drinks and more. Walking into that seasonal aisle feels like stepping into a mini-Halloween marketplace a one-stop shop for parents, students, and party planners to shop more efficiently. It’s about curation and convenience, making the whole occasion easy to shop. That’s where supermarkets win: their ability to mix categories and tell a bigger story than any single brand can. Brands can win as a result; by appearing in these prime sections, it increases the chance of impulse purchases.
4. Bewitching Price Promotions & Retailer Exclusives
Alongside classic price cuts, retailer-exclusive prizes and loyalty-card linked offers are powerful ways to spin a compelling web for Halloween. These promotions can include prize give-aways, cash offers, trick or treat gamification and limited-edition merch only found at certain supermarkets, bonus prizes for loyalty members, or exclusive gifts. Combine those with price promotions, discounted seasonal favourites and Halloween themed POS or packaging, you get a double pull: shoppers feel they’re getting both value and something a little more special.
Retailers that lean on these tactics see real results. For example, insights show that price promotions accounted for 28.2% of total grocery sales in one recent UK period (4 weeks to 23 March 2025), up significantly year-on-year [7]. Retailers are investing heavily in promotional deals: nearly 30% of spending across big chains was on special offers/discounts in a four-week period in April [8], with £347 million more spent on such deals than in the same period the previous year [9]. These statistics show that promotions aren’t just “nice to have”. Increasingly, consumers expect them, and retailers leverage them to draw traffic especially during seasonal moments like Halloween.
5. Thrilling Partnerships
Halloween is already a cultural moment, but when you add the halo effect of a major film release, the impact multiplies. From Doritos and Chupa Chups’ X Stranger Things, Fanta X Halloween Icons, and M&M’s X Disney’s Haunted Wonderland, studios and brands are increasingly syncing up around spooky season. Licensed products, whether it’s partnered prize-promotions, drinks with favourite film characters, or in-store POS featuring a twist on an iconic castle, it gives shoppers a recognisable hook and a reason to engage.
Licensed Ranges linked to family films often become seasonal bestsellers, In-Store Displays boost visibility and driving impulse sales and further brand and product consideration, Cross-Channel Activations that include social media challenges, recipe videos, or “watch party” bundles tie the big moments to the big shop.
Partnerships with films have been shown to increase purchase intent by up to 20% when characters are featured on-pack [10]. For retailers, licensed displays can deliver stronger category performance: in 2022, UK supermarkets saw confectionery SKUs with film tie-ins outperform non-licensed seasonal packs during Halloween by a clear margin [11].
Conclusion
Halloween presents a unique opportunity for brands to connect with consumers, boost sales, and enhance brand visibility, with consumer spending on Halloween-related products exceeding £1 billion in 2023, the potential for growth is significant [12]. By implementing strategies such as limited-edition product lines, immersive in-store displays, exclusive promotions, and on-pack giveaways, brands can capitalize on this seasonal event.
So, as the pumpkins are carved and costumes are donned, our question is: Did your brand take part in Halloween? If not, can you afford to miss out again next year?
Sources
1. thegrocer.com (2023)
2. kantar.com (2023)
3. business.yougov.com (2024)
4. ipsos.com
5. kantar.com (2024)
6. Monash University Business School study (2021)
7. kantar.com (2025)
10. Licensing International (2023)
11. thegrocer.com (2022)
12. fiscalfx.co.uk
