This year, Spirit Halloween sites will see higher than average traffic levels. Spirit Halloween will operate 10 locations during the whole holiday season as “Spirit Christmas.”
Ten locations in the Northeast will open through the end of the year, as opposed to the company’s typical approach of renting vacant storefronts for the Halloween-specific retailer only long enough to take place.
According to the spokesman, the company’s flagship store in Mays Landing, New Jersey, will open on October 18, and the other nine sites will follow in early November. Not every store that now houses Spirit Halloween will be transformed.
While holiday décor and inflatables will be present at every store, each one will offer a unique experience. Along with wrapping paper and stockings, the new businesses will feature activities like taking pictures with a genuine Santa and sending letters to the North Pole, in place of phony skulls and costumes.
The initial ten locations will serve as a trial run to determine whether or not patrons would stick around for the holidays.
Although profitable, holiday sales are not a sure thing for the business. The National Retail Federation estimates that in 2023, spending will have increased by 3.8% annually to $964.4 billion.
In 2024, Deloitte projects a 2.3% to 3.3% increase in holiday retail sales. However, they also predict a bigger climb of 7% to 9% for e-commerce, which the Spirit Christmas test stores will not support.
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Amazon intends to hire 250,000 workers for the Christmas season, the same amount as the previous year, as it gets ready for the holidays.
In addition, a very volatile presidential election in November and an exceptionally turbulent storm season could impact holiday spending.
