There’s no stopping the rise of the Halloween monster in the UK – it’s now our third biggest retail event, dislodging Valentine’s Day and taking its place behind Easter and Christmas. Surprised?
When you sink your teeth into the stats, it comes as less of a shock.
In 2010 we discussed how a ‘frightful’ UK spend of £280m was expected for 31 October. Here we are five years on, and reports are predicting a 2015 expense that could exceed £400m – that’s a 42% increase!
We may still lag significantly behind the billions being spent in the US, but the UK clamour for Halloween is on a relentless march – millennials being the driving force behind the increases in interest and subsequent spending.
Is Halloween too commercialised?
Supermarkets are understandably keen to get involved (see Tesco below) – it’s unlikely you’ve been able to avoid the decorations and fright-themed packaging that adorn the shelves throughout the month. The commercialism can be suffocating, but then, it’s only a bit of fun isn’t it?
Trick or treat! Welcome to our terrifying Tesco Spookermarket where the customers are in for bit of Halloween fun… https://t.co/QISAhf2lVn
— Tesco (@Tesco) October 22, 2015
While Christmas and Easter have official holidays, those ‘celebrating’ Halloween nowadays are doing so in the name of having a good time with something a little bit different. Whether or not you can get on board with it all comes down to personal preference.
I actually quite enjoy Halloween’s unique atmosphere – if you get in the right spirit (sorry) then there’s certainly no harm in embracing it
We’ve been having a bit of fun here at Which?, and we’re pretty pleased with our pumpkin carving and decorating efforts! OK, the minion might not quite qualify as Halloween – but we do think they make pretty awesome pumpkins!
Our carved pumpkins
Overall we spent £7 on our three pumpkins, which could be worse given a reported pumpkin shortage following a very rainy August.
Have you been preparing for Halloween with lavish decorations and scary costumes? Or, like us, have you been making a mess carving pumpkins? It doesn’t have to be your cup of tea – you may have had your arm twisted by your kids who just don’t want to miss out!
Either way we’d love to hear if you’ve been splashing the cash – how much is too much? And of course, please do share your decorations with us.
Useful links
See Which? Best Buy pumpkins for next year