The sneaky way retailers like Costco are tricking YOU into splashing more cash
Stores are putting Halloween-themed products on their shelves earlier than usual, seemingly tricking consumers into spending money.
Retailers like Costco and Home Depot are just two of the chains that began offering items more than two months before this year's spooky holiday.
Experts point out that savvy retailers are embracing social media trends - in this case following the Summerween and Pinkoween TikTok crazes - to lure shoppers, who have been cutting back on spending.
Laura Champine of Loop Capital Markets visited Costco locations in Los Angeles and New York in March and April and said she had seen the same Halloween merchandise in both stores.
'It's clear that consumers have been interested in buying Halloween products earlier and earlier,' Champine told CNN this week.
Retailers have begun putting Halloween-themed products on their shelves earlier than usual, seemingly tricking consumers into spending money
Retailers like Costco and Home Depot are just two of the chains that began offering items for this year's spooky holiday this summer
Stocking Halloween pumpkins and scary costumes early is aimed at attracting shoppers on the basis that 'if they're not spending in one area, maybe they'll spend on this,' according to Joe Feldman, a senior retail analyst at Telsey Advisory Group
Choosing when to put Halloween-themed products on shelves is not just up to employees anymore.
Donna Smith, professor and director of Retail Management at Ted Rogers School of Management of Toronto Metropolitan University, revealed that retailers can use 'AI-driven programs' to decide when Halloween products hit shelves.
'Retailers often [decide what to stock] based on historical figures and various internet searches and industry trends and reports,' Smith told the Detroit Free Press in 2023.
'AI is replacing this in my opinion. Holidays such as Halloween are huge revenue generators for retailers.'
Halloween is a popular holiday, and US shoppers were expected to spend more than $12 billion last year on candy and decorations, an all-time high.
'It's a holiday that combines retail and entertainment — the ultimate spending combination,' Jadrian Wooten, Virginia Tech professor of economics, told Radford News Journal this month.
'Spending is practically built into this tradition, and retailers are happy to offer shoppers everything from costumes and decorations to spooky-themed snacks.'
Wooten continued by calling this spending a 'double-edged sword,' and that while it can boost consumer confidence and help industries, it can also take away from financial decisions like savings and investments.
Retailers have also decided to embrace trends like Summerween and Pinkoween, both starting around the time early Halloween rollouts started.
Summerween came from Gravity Falls - a Disney Channel series about locals in a fictional Oregon town who love and celebrate Halloween twice a year.
TikTok user Sheri Wilson is one of many who posted videos of fun-filled Halloween ideas that are good for the summer.
Her video, which has racked in more than 5.5 million views, included orange drinks in jack-o'-lantern cups and burgers with pumpkin-shaped cheese.
Retailers like HomeGoods and Michaels have also embraced Pinkoween - a trend with pink-colored Halloween decorations.
'I love the idea of taking traditionally spooky elements like skulls, bats, and ghosts and switching them up with pink hues,' HomeGoods ambassador Keiko Lynn told USA Today.
Lynn, who is also a social media influencer, even posted a tutorial on how to make a 'secret witch hat' with pink and green material a month before Halloween last year.
Halloween is a popular holiday, and US shoppers were expected to spend more than $12 billion last year on candy and decorations
A Reddit user spoke highly of Costco's animated werewolves, while Home Depot's skeleton dog sales skyrocketed after its Halloween collection launched last month
Starbucks' brought back its annual pumpkin spice lattes earlier than recent years following retailers' early Halloween rollouts
Although Home Depot's online sales for its new skeleton dog skyrocketed last month, Costco is selling products like Mickey Mouse-shaped pumpkins, and animated werewolves.
'I'm loving the new Costco Werewolf for this year! It's $250 in stores and is outdoor rated. That's why I decided to get him,' wrote a Reddit user last month.
Chief merchandising officer at Michaels also stated that its early Halloween rollout is beating its 'internal expectations' when speaking with CNN.
He added that consumer demand is what 'drives the launch' of season collections, and that it came 'earlier than ever' this year.
Other things consumers can do to celebrate Halloween early include stopping by Starbucks for a pumpkin spice latte, and Petco to select from over 350 items for its annual Bootique.
