Immerse Consumers In Omnichannel Experiences This Halloween Season

By: LiquidPixels | October 27, 2023 | 5 Min Read

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… Halloween is here!

Starting in August, retail companies began selling their Halloween-themed products, costumes, and decor. And according to the National Retail Federation (NRF), this Halloween consumers’ spending is expected to reach a record $12.2 billion. Participation in celebrating the Halloween is also expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels going from 69% in 2022 to 73% this year.

With this kind of demand for Halloween themed decorations, candy, and costumes, how should brands maximize consumer spending with them?

Here are some new insights on customer behavior, and how e-commerce companies can leverage data, immersive experiences, and dynamic imaging to boost Halloween online sales.

Immersive Consumer Experiences

According to RetailNext, “In an age where e-commerce has been on the rise, physical retailers are reimagining their spaces to offer immersive experiences.” For example, every year Spirit Halloween is resurrected to provide consumers a fun place to shop for Halloween decor and costumes. The store is known for their larger than life animatronic decorations and interactive display.

This makes for an incredible in-store experience. But how can brands bring this kind of immersive experience to their online channels? With dynamic visualization.

Dynamic visualization provides the tools to create immersive online experiences through the use of imagery and data. The data could be simple, like a geographical location, or uniquely personal, like a nickname.

When dynamic visualization is enabled, customer data can be used to influence a website experience. For example, if Jane Smith is logged into her customer profile, or has cookies enabled from a previous visit, dynamic imaging tools can reference her profile to create a uniquely personal experience for her. So, if the company's CRM shows that Jane previously purchased a vampire costume in a women's size medium, dynamic imaging can instantly render imagery of vampire-related accessories. Or, show Jane other costumes in her size that are currently in stock. 

By utilizing dynamic visualization, companies can create seamless omnichannel experiences that are uniquely personal to their customers. This type of omnichannel marketing seamlessly shows customers the products that they want and offers a frictionless path to purchase.   

The Real Start of the Holiday Shopping Season

Forget Black Friday, Halloween is the true beginning of the holiday shopping frenzy. In fact, Halloween is one of the most profitable shopping events for retail companies. Sales for candies, costumes, decorations, and pet accessories set the benchmark for the holiday season. According to The Wise Marketer, “the report found that 22% say it’s NEVER too early for Halloween items to be showcased online and in stores, while 35% say July is too early, and an additional 26% say August is too early.” These days, August appears to be when consumers can expect to see Halloween merchandise creep into their shopping experiences.

The projected numbers for 2023’s Halloween:

• Per person spending up to $108.24 ($102.74 in 2021)
• Total spending on costumes to reach $4.1 billion ($3.6 billion in 2022)
• Total spending on decorations to reach $3.9 billion
• Total spending on candy to reach $3.6 billion ($3.1 billion)
  
  

Callbacks: The Key to Online Halloween Sales

In this era of online shopping, Halloween is also a favorite of e-commerce sites.

• NRF estimates that 32 percent of all Halloween retail sales happen online through e-commerce sites.
• According to Civic Science, 38 percent of people ages 18–24 plan to buy the majority of their Halloween candy and decor online this year, followed by 25% of 25–34 year olds, and 21% of Gen Pop. (See graphic below.)
• Prosper Executive Vice President of Strategy Phil Rist stated: “Social media continues to grow as a source of costume inspiration for younger consumers, as more people under 25 are turning to TikTok, Pinterest and Instagram for ideas.” Further constitutes the need for businesses to create an omnichannel experience for consumers.

Graph provided by Civic Science.

These numbers suggest that brands have an opportunity to boost interest in Halloween sales with omnichannel marketing. By leveraging callbacks to previously generated customer data, brands can create exceptional customer experiences that are tailored to each visitor's unique preferences. 

Companies have access to customer information and past purchases, but most still do not leverage their own customer relationship management (CRM) systems to create a personalized shopping experience. Why not use this information to give a customer exactly what they want, based on known past purchases?

Example: In 2022, a customer ordered a Disney princess-themed costume for their daughter, Anna, and a pumpkin costume for their dog, Bruno. With the right tools and marketing strategies, these few pieces of information can help generate more personal messaging and email, like:

“Bruno was a picture-perfect pumpkin last year. Make him a 'hot dog' in 2023!”

“Fairy tales do come true! See our selection of princess costumes for Anna this year.”

If people show interest in a product, the information they provide is already collected in your CRM. Use this data to delight your customers and steadily nurture them to become happy, repeat clients.

Leverage Dynamic Imaging for Halloween Marketing Campaigns

Using a CRM to create customized content is not just limited to personalizing text. Brands can boost online Halloween sales by using dynamic imaging to tailor product imagery, as well.

By enabling dynamic imaging for products, companies can leverage customer data that has been stored through past interactions, and create tailored campaigns for the future. Not only does this showcase products in the best possible way, it addresses customers’ innate desire to personalize and customize their purchases.

Through the creation of dynamic personalized imagery, a company can strengthen their omnichannel experience. Consumers can see personalized images and messaging that speak to them personally. This creates an emotional bond to the items which keeps consumers invested in your brand.

Dynamic imaging solutions like LiquiFire® OS can be fully integrated with your CRM. LiquiFire OS can utilize the information in a CRM to generate customized and personalized imagery on demand.

Not only does LiquiFire OS enable customers to make personalized choices for their products, it also captures and manages those preferences and other user-generated content. Data captured can then be used again to create interest-based imaging and enable personalized emails and content around products and offers in line with the customer’s preferences.

With these customized products and personalized email, companies can pull the necessary data they need to boost Halloween online sales and make the spookiest time of the year more fun for everyone.

To learn more about dynamic imaging and how it can improve your e-commerce experience, contact us here.