A scary story: UK spends ?120m on Halloween

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A scary story: we spend ?120m on Halloween

Amelia Hill, culture and society correspondent
Sunday October 22, 2006
The Observer

Not so long ago Halloween was a simple night of homemade horror which included making witches' hats from egg boxes and scaring siblings by telling ghost stories. It is now a multimillion-pound industry: Britons' spending on Halloween paraphernalia has risen from ?12 million five years ago to an expected ?120m this year. 'It's no longer a matter of a few plastic fangs,' said Francesca Colling, from Woolworths. 'People want expensive gimmicks. They want a wide range of themed food and drink. They want extravagant decorations for their houses. They even want fancy-dress outfits for their pets.'

Analysts say Britain is catching up with the US, where an average family spends ?65 on Halloween decorations, sweets and costumes in a nationwide industry worth ?4.7 billion. In Britain, Halloween is the third most profitable event for retailers after Christmas and Easter; way ahead of Guy Fawkes Day and Valentine's Day. 'The seven days before 31 October, 2006, are expected to be the second busiest shopping week of the year,' said Michelle Harrison, director of market analysts the Henley Centre. Retailers say demand for ghoulish goods is so keen that they are struggling to satisfy customers. Woolworths launched a Halloween range in 2000 with 50 products. A year later the range included 100 goods. This year there are 237 items.

Tesco anticipates this year will see a 33 per cent increase in sales compared to 2005: from ?14m last year to ?20m. 'The increase in demand has been so extreme that we put together a team who spent the last six months researching Halloween trends and looking at products to buy, involving making trips to America,' said spokesperson Caroline Woffenden. Sainsbury admits it failed last year to anticipate how big the Halloween market had become. 'This year, for the first time, we have dedicated a third of our Halloween range to the adult market to meet the demand we were unable to satisfy last year,' said spokesperson Parveen Johal.

It all sounds like good fun, but Jean Paldan, from the independent anti-consumer group, Corporate Watch, has watched what she calls the 'Americanisation' of Britain's Halloween celebrations with growing disquiet. Paldan moved to Oxford from Michigan five years ago. 'In America, you can't buy a loaf of bread around Halloween without being bombarded with themed advertising,' she said. 'The night itself is extraordinary: we used to get 200 children knocking at our door, trick or treating in a single evening. They would literally form a queue outside our house carrying pillowcases for their loot. I remember my first Halloween in Britain,' she added. 'It was so fun precisely because it wasn't so commercialised. People celebrated in creative ways. But in the past five years the night has become far more Americanised and, as a result, far more about consumption.'

Paldan is not alone: one woman confessed her feelings on the parenting website, mumsnet. 'I loathe Halloween,' she wrote. 'Every year that night comes round and I know what will happen. Early on you get a few cute younger children all excited and dressed up . Then you start to get big groups of teenagers in no costume other than horrific masks shouting and banging on the door demanding "cash or food". Ignore them and you get your home attacked, open the door and you get nothing but cheek.'

This year police are hoping such mothers will not have cause to repeat their complaints. In 2005 the number of anti-social behaviour orders issued at Halloween doubled to 786, but this year police forces are setting up special squads to target likely offenders.

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It's certainly true that in ENGLAND there has been a large increase of interest in Halloween, but it has always been popular in Scotland. The English have gone more for the american version for sure though.