Halloween Retail Showdown: Party City vs. Spirit Halloween

[Sanjeev Advani]

As Halloween approaches, Party City is taking on its annual rival, Spirit Halloween, in the battle for seasonal dominance. However, this year, Party City has switched up its strategy. Instead of opening Halloween City pop-up stores, it’s transforming its 750 existing stores into Halloween hubs, packed with animatronics, costumes, and decor. This shift aims to avoid the high costs of renting temporary locations as the company focuses on stabilizing its business after emerging from bankruptcy in 2023.

Meanwhile, Spirit Halloween is expanding aggressively, with a record 1,525 pop-up stores for the 2024 season, offering immersive experiences with animatronics and interactive displays. In addition to Spirit Halloween, major retailers like Walmart, Target, Amazon, Home Depot, and Lowe’s are all competing for a share of the $12 billion Halloween market.

With Home Depot’s viral 12-foot skeleton selling out and Big Lots purchasing overstock Halloween supplies, Party City faces fierce competition. While its new strategy is bold, it remains to be seen whether shifting focus to its core stores will be enough to compete with Spirit Halloween’s expanding presence and other retail giants.

[Bradley Buxton]

@Sanjeev Advani

It all seems really scary...