We’re gearing up for the spookiest time of the year.

Love it or loathe it, Halloween is big business in the UK.

Here are the statistics which prove it:

  • Consumers in the UK spent £300 million on Halloween last year.
  • The average spend is £33 per shopper.
  • 29% of UK shoppers plan to buy Halloween goods – that rises to 44% of adults with children. Of those, 55% plan to buy Halloween costumes.
  • 52% of shoppers plan to get ready for trick or treaters with sweets or other food and drink.

The spend in the USA is eye-watering – $6.9 billion was spent on Halloween by consumers in 2015, an average of $74 a head. (Sources of statistics: Verdict retail survey; Statista)

There are a number of reasons why having a horrifying Halloween has become so big in the UK.

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In general, where the USA goes in terms of sales and marketing, the UK is likely to follow.

Any celebration which involves children is also a dream for marketers – adults don’t want their youngsters to miss out, and children use pester power to keep up with their friends.

Add into the mix film franchises like Ghostbusters and Harry Potter, and the Harry Potter novels themselves, and the supernatural has become cool.

So how could you have a monster of a Halloween this year?

For retailers selling Halloween goods, the answer’s obvious.

Some of the businesses where Halloween-themed goods are excellent sellers include arts and craft shops, bars and restaurants, fancy dress hire stores, clothing shops, and food retailers.

For other businesses, there are still two key ways Halloween could help you get terrifyingly good sales.

Use it in your marketing

Get into a ghoulish vibe and vamp up your marketing.

Think visually – 65% of people are said to be visual learners who look at and learn from visuals first.

Social media is the perfect place to share Halloween-themed visuals.

Tips:

Use Canva or Adobe Illustrator to create spooky graphics.

For iPhone users, Ripl.com’s app creates quick and shareable visuals – you can also animate them and, if you take up the paid-for option, add music.

Add video or still images to Halloween-themed blogs.

Create Facebook Live or Periscope events for Halloween parties or events in your business.

Create ghoulish gifs using Gifmaker.me  or Gifcreator.me .

Look for relevant hashtags and share your posts using them – you’ll get a wider audience which is already looking for #Halloween or #Ghostbusters, for example.

Create some frighteningly good offers

Some products are perfect for one-day offers – hair and beauty salons could have a 10% off day for Halloween (without any horrifying make-up!), or book stores could have a promotion on horror classics.

Offers which have a limited timescale encourage consumers to speed up the decision-making process. You’ll catch those who have been dithering but need that extra push to commit to a purchase.

Tips:

Use Halloween images in flyers and e-flyers to promote your offers. When it comes to e-flyers, use your email database to promote them as well as sharing them on social media. Encourage your contacts to share them.

Tell us how you’re planning a bumper Halloween – leave a comment below!