An Adapted Halloween in the Pandemic Era

A number of companies are looking at this year’s Halloween season a bit differently this year. In light of CDC guidelines, many people are reconsidering traditional activities such as trick-or-treating, Halloween parties, and haunted houses. So how are companies – including many that typically count on this seasonal spending – responding this year? Here are a few examples:

• Home improvement retailers Lowe’s is offering drive-up curb-side trick-or-treating where customers can reserve a time to pick up candy and a small pumpkin for free
• Candy manufacturer Mars has developed a virtual trick-or-treat experience via an app where participants can offer or collect credits for candy IRL
• Candy suppliers are providing less candy in holiday-specific packaging, unsure how sales will be considering the weakness of the 2020 Easter season

Digital experience cater to how customers are engaging with retailers and shopping these days. Curb-side pick-up of online orders and e-commerce home deliveries are still the preferred mode of shopping. And of course, anything that gets customers in the mood for the holiday will support spending.

For more information and discussion of opportunities, see Packaged Facts’ food- and beverage-related reports, including US Food Market Outlook 2020: Home Cooking, Grocery Shopping & Food Trends in the Age of Coronavirus. The Freedonia Group’s extensive collection of off-the-shelf research provides a strong complement to packaged food industry analysis, including packaging industry titles such as the update of Pouches (coming soon), as well as Global Foodservice Single-Use Products and Global Single-Use Packaging Regulations.

Freedonia Custom Research is also available for questions requiring tailored market intelligence.