©fotostorm and ©pixelshot via Canva.com
October 8, 2024
Can Spirit Christmas Stores Find the Same Success as Spirit Halloween?
Spirit Halloween Superstores, a subsidiary of Spencer Gifts, has announced the debut of Spirit Christmas stores for the first time this holiday season. Concentrated primarily in the northeastern U.S., the initial 10 stores are set to open in the following cities:
- Waterford, Connecticut
- Dartmouth, Massachusetts
- Brick Township, New Jersey
- Marlton, New Jersey
- Mays Landing, New Jersey
- Woodbridge, New Jersey
- Albany, New York
- Bohemia, New York
- Poughkeepsie, New York
- Erie, Pennsylvania
To enhance the festive experience, a live Santa Claus will be available for photo opportunities, with shoppers able to get a free digital photo and reserve spots in advance to avoid long lines. Many of the planned locations are currently Spirit Halloween stores. For specific opening dates and hours, shoppers are encouraged to check the official Spirit Halloween website.
While holiday sales are lucrative — consumer spending increased 3.8% year-over-year to reach a record $964.4 billion in 2023, per the National Retail Federation — they remain an uncertain bet for the company, according to CNBC. Currently, Deloitte is expecting a 2.3% to 3.3% increase in total holiday sales for 2024 compared to 2023, but it forecasts a higher increase of 7% to 9% for e-commerce sales specifically, which the Spirit Christmas test stores might not support.
“Spirit Christmas is a new concept for us, and we’re hopeful it will resonate with our customers. Our goal is to create a festive retail experience that captures the spirit of the season, much like we do for Halloween.”
Spirit Halloween Spokesperson via CNBC
As reported by CNN, Spirit Christmas’s flagship store in Mays Landing, New Jersey, is set to open on Oct. 18, with additional locations following in early November.
Furthermore, WRRV radio added historical context to the news, explaining that in 1990, Spirit Halloween began experimenting with Christmas pop-up stores by extending leases into November and December. Founder Joseph Marver once stated, “The Christmas stores were just something I had to try since it wasn’t difficult to add another 2 months to our 3 month lease,” calling it a “no brainer” to extend into Christmas.
Though it was eventually discontinued, it seems this holiday concept was revisited in 2005 and 2006, after Spencer Gifts acquired the Spirit Halloween brand in 1999 and tested its own Christmas format. The question now is whether this time around will stick.
As previously discussed on RetailWire, Spirit Halloween is recognized as the most successful pop-up retail chain, anticipating a record year that included hiring 50,000 seasonal workers and opening 1,525 stores, up from 40,000 staff and 1,500 locations the previous year. CEO Steven Silverstein, who has led significant growth since acquiring the company in 1999, attributes success to extensive inventory, with over 4,500 costume options compared to typical retailers that may only carry 1,000 to 1,500.
Spirit’s unique business model focuses on inventory management, retaining 30%-40% of products for future sales instead of liquidating at season’s end. Their real estate strategy involves short-term leases from August to November, capitalizing on vacant retail spaces, while the increasing popularity of Halloween drives customer engagement. The shopping experience is enhanced by themed decor, animatronics, and passionate staff, creating an enthusiastic atmosphere that attracts customers.
As Spirit Halloween now steps into the Christmas season with its new Spirit Christmas concept, the company has the opportunity to leverage these proven strategies to establish a foothold in a different holiday market. However, it won’t have an inventory of costumes to lean on as it does for Halloween, so it remains to be seen whether it will be able to overcome the competition and find similar success as a seasonal destination beyond October.
Discussion Questions
What insights arise from Spirit Halloween’s shift to Christmas retail, especially regarding consumer behavior and seasonal spending?
How do Spirit Halloween’s strategies, like short-term leases and inventory management, influence trends in the pop-up retail industry?
How might the festive experience at Spirit Christmas stores affect customer loyalty and purchasing during the holiday season?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Jeff Sward
Founding Partner, Merchandising Metrics
Cathy Hotka
Principal, Cathy Hotka & Associates
Georganne Bender
Principal, KIZER & BENDER Speaking
Recent Discussions
More Discussions
Has Maverik Made a Mistake on its Kum & Go Rebrand?
Maverik has completed its rebranding of Kum & Go, folding the stores into its own banner…Is Guilt Messaging the Path To Influencing Consumer Behavior?
A university study has found that telling consumers their returned items will be “kept out of…How Great of an Advantage Do Low-Price Leaders Like Walmart and Aldi Have?
Low-price leaders like Aldi and Walmart, among others, are vying for an increasingly savvy consumer. How…
Christmas is a less lucrative occasion for Spirit than Halloween as the products consumers purchase are more confined to decor and there is far less emphasis on costumes. The style of decor also tends to be more traditional and somewhat less creative than Halloween. On top of this, there is enormous competition as most chain retailers go all in on Christmas decorations and accessories. Nevertheless, there is a market here so it makes sense for Spirit to dip its toe into the water and see if it can extend its selling season beyond Halloween. That it is only doing this in a limited number of stores signals some caution.
Spirit Halloween has a cult following, even though plenty of other stores carry Halloween merchandise. I’m going to guess that cult followers will at least try the new Christmas concept.
Why would I need to visit a Spirit Christmas store when almot every other retailer on the planet has a Christmas department?
This story did a great job of avoiding telling us what they actually sell; but I’ll assume Xmas decorations, in which case there will be no shortage of competition. That’s true of Halloween as well, of course, but “even worse” might carry some significance. Still, theyr’e taking advantage of a soft leasing market – indeed the whole concept is as transitory as human
desperationingenuity can make it – so the risk seems small.Spirit Christmas will not do nearly as well as Spirit Halloween for two reasons:
1. Christmas is not nearly as specialized as Halloween. Everyone knows what Halloween is specifically about, and know what they expect to see, and generally speaking, what they plan to buy, even before they enter the store.
2. A specialty store for Halloween makes sense for the reason stated above. Halloween merchandise is very categorized. But also, Christmas is “everywhere,” not just in limited store-types.
I suppose the Spirit Christmas store can be more specialized with party goods and decorations.
Genius.
I love this idea given the existing market conditions. Meaning…abundant lease space and the ease of extending leases. Giving Spirit Christmas a great deal certainly beats looking at empty space during the holidays. I don’t think anybody would have said that the market lacked Christmas products, and therefore Spirit Halloween had an obvious long term opportunity. But I do think it was an obvious opportunity to test, to see if sufficient market share could be stolen to make it a viable extension of the current model. I was in a Spirit Halloween a couple of weeks ago and was flabbergasted at the storytelling. You can’t sit at home and think up that kind of decorating. Lots of households may already have a very consistent way they decorate for Christmas, but if Spirit Christmas takes their execution to the masterclass level, like they do with Halloween, I’m betting they will carve out a slice of the market for themselves
I have only one question: Do any of you have insight? Why would they make May’s Landing, NJ their flagship. I live in NJ, and ML is in a sparsely populated part of the State far from NYC and the Northern/Central suburbs.
There are some interesting dynamic shifts that make the strategy a bit more questionable. Halloween is a single day vs. the holidays being a multi-week celebration. Christmas decorations are more common and pervasive in every house, but also offered in greater store footprints. Christmas decorations are various but uniform whereas Halloween costumers are individual. Spirit has a cult following but not the same brand recognition in the holidays and families. So it will be interesting. Longer shopping season, less pressing need, and more competition – my guess is it won’t work well.
The business model works for Halloween so why not for Christmas? I am curious how they decided on their initial locations…Mays Landing NJ hardly sounds like a beachhead location to me but I may just be signaling my ignorance of parts of the Northeast.
Operationally I think success hinges on how much of a draw Santa is, and I would not bet against him!
I could see this being pretty successful actually. They’ve become a fun, limited-time brand, so I think this works.
Brilliant! I disagree with Neil. Christmas is the king of buying unnecessary decoration items that spend most of their time in storage (call me Scrooge). Plus light strings fail and winter weather can take a toll out outdoor decorations. The timelessness of the holiday inventory reduces the need to discount. Since most Christmas items see the light of day only a few weeks a year, I would offer storage bins or ready-to-decorate kits that come in a storage bin. That complete package will drive up unnecessary holiday spending.
Spirit Halloween jumping into Christmas retail feels like they are chasing a seasonal trend. Consumers prefer to their well-established go-to places for holiday shopping, so competing with those will be tough. Spirit’s short-term lease and inventory strategies work well for Halloween, but Christmas shopping is completely different. However, I think people might check out Spirit Christmas stores out of curiosity, but I doubt it will have the same draw as their Halloween experience.
Spirit Halloween’s expansion into Christmas retail highlights key consumer behaviors related to seasonal spending. The success of their Halloween pop-ups suggests that consumers are drawn to immersive, time-sensitive shopping experiences that align with holiday themes. This creates a sense of urgency, driving impulse purchases. The emotional connection to holiday traditions, much like Halloween, can be leveraged during Christmas, when nostalgia plays a significant role in consumer spending patterns. With the right in-store environment, Spirit Christmas can tap into this emotional response, encouraging shoppers to spend on gifts, decorations, and other holiday essentials.
The festive, themed experience at Spirit Christmas stores can significantly enhance customer loyalty and increase purchasing during the holiday season. By creating a memorable, joyful atmosphere, Spirit can foster strong emotional connections with shoppers, encouraging return visits and word-of-mouth referrals. This immersive experience makes shopping enjoyable, helping customers associate the brand with positive holiday memories. Consequently, it increases the likelihood of higher spending per visit and long-term customer loyalty, extending the brand’s influence beyond the Halloween season.