When is Halloween celebrated?

Halloween is always celebrated on October 31, the evening before the All Saints Day (November 1).

It is the fourth most popular holiday next to Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter. Traditionally, Halloween was most prominently celebrated in the United States and Canada.

In recent years, it has become an important international holiday opportunity for global ecommerce. Many countries around the world have been influenced by American pop culture and have adopted Halloween.

Although less famous than in North America, the holiday is widely celebrated in Europe. Not just in the United Kingdom but in the countries it might have originated from – Scotland and Ireland. The expat community has even introduced this holiday to Hong Kong, China, and Japan. It has become an excellent tool for selling internationally.

Halloween across different cultures

If we look back at Halloween origins, this holiday marked seasons changing from summer to winter. It was often a moment to reflect and commemorate those departed. Different cultures still have local names and traditions to celebrate the holiday, like Día de los Muertos in Mexico.

However, modern Halloween evokes more universal symbols globally. Haunted houses filled with cobwebs, dancing skeletons, coffins, creepy monsters, and a spine-tingling “Boo!” jumping out from behind the corner.

Most popular Halloween costumes

Dressing up for Halloween is all about uniqueness. Each year brings a fresh wave of Halloween costume trends, capturing the imaginations of party-goers and trick-or-treaters alike.

Many customers will want to find costumes different from what is available locally. And because Halloween is American to its core, it’s mainly the US influencing global trends among Halloween enthusiasts. Google’s “Frightgeist” tool shows you all the most popular Halloween costume searches around the US – according to what people are searching for.

Top 10 Halloween costumes in 2022 were:

• Witch
• Spiderman
• Dinosaur
• Stranger Things character
• Fairy Pirate
• Rabbit
• Cheerleader
• Cowboy
• Harley Quinn

It’s worth considering it to properly stock up for this year’s Halloween.

How to grow international sales during Halloween? 8 selling tips and tricks

People looking to buy Halloween ecommerce products generally go through the same buying journey as they would for any other product.

When it comes to international ecommerce opportunities like Halloween, infusing creativity into marketing and sales marketing strategy can make all the difference. By doing so, online sellers can tap into the festive atmosphere and connect with customers in a playful, engaging way.

Dive into our selling tips and tricks and see how to increase online selling during this spooky season.

#1 Halloween Ecommerce Tip: Improve your listings for Halloween buyers

To boost your Halloween sales, you must optimize your marketplace listings properly.

Conducting thorough keyword research provides valuable insights into what potential customers are actively searching for in the lead-up to this holiday. It can help you get more views on your listings and get your product offer to the top.

Make sure to saturate your listings with relevant Halloween-related keywords naturally. This way, you can phrase your offer in a way that will attract traffic as well as convert potential customers.

Don’t forget to repeat the process for each foreign market you aim to reach with your international offer. Expanding optimization efforts across diverse needs will broaden your reach and potential for success.

#2 Halloween Ecommerce Tip: Elevate sales with international product localization

As the Halloween season approaches, it’s essential to consider how you can localize your product offers for international markets. It’s much more than just translation.

Ecommerce localization is the process of adapting a product you want to sell to a given language, culture, or region.

Imagine you’re selling Halloween costumes internationally. The customer experience will depend on whether you can provide a fully localized shopping experience. Ecommerce localization includes size conversions for costumes, currency conversions for pricing, accommodating different payment methods, international shipping, and returns to make it easy for customers worldwide, and ensuring your product listings are 100% compliant with local legal regulations.

The good news is that product localization processes can be fully and efficiently automated today with software integrations, allowing you to offer customers a seamless Halloween shopping experience globally.

#3 Halloween Ecommerce Tip: Create spooky-fun marketing magic

Create your Halloween marketing campaign to provide a memorable experience for your customers and get them in the mood for the holiday. Update your ecommerce store, offers, and channels with custom spooky content.

There are many ways to achieve that goal, and we recommend creating some Halloween-themed content, for example:

• Writing SEO-friendly blog posts for your website
• Planning email sequences
• Crafting engaging social media posts
• Resharing user-generated content
• Shooting video tutorials
• Organizing giveaways and contests

Need topic ideas? Depending on your product portfolio, you could cover:

• Halloween costume ideas
• Home decoration trends
• Party food recipes and food styling tips

And many more, depending on your creativity! The general rule is to feature your Halloween products prominently in each marketing piece you prepare. After all, you don’t want just to entertain your customers. You also want your marketing efforts to boost selling internationally.

Use seasonal hashtags to describe your Halloween ecommerce ideas and reach international customers. Classic Halloween hashtags include: #happyhalloween #trickortreat #halloweencostume #spookyseason #halloweendeals #halloweenvibes.

#4 Halloween Ecommerce Idea: Incentivize customers with freebies

A good tactic for attracting online shoppers is to offer Halloween-themed freebies. Go through your online store’s current listings and check the following:

• Are there any smaller, cheaper items that are not your top sellers?
• Are they taking up space in your storage?
• Are there any seasonal left-over items from other ecommerce occasions that could be re-purposed for this holiday?

Chances are, you have something in stock that you could leverage into a freebie. If not, get creative with digital products. Some great Halloween downloadable freebie ideas are:

• Home decoration printables
• Printable coloring pages for children
• Costume ideas, patterns, and cut-outs

Keep it on topic: it’s a great idea to spice up your Halloween-themed listings and the regular ones!

#5 Halloween Ecommerce Idea: Take advantage of cross-selling and up-selling

The best way to capitalize on consumer intent to purchase from you is to cross-sell and up-sell.

These techniques, often overlooked, can be your secret weapon to increase sales and average customer order value during Halloween.

Cross-selling can occur when a customer wants to buy a specific item from you, so you persuade them to purchase another related product. Some Halloween examples of this technique?

You could try cross-selling party supplies if you’re listing Halloween costumes in your online store. Or, when selling candy, have a selection of Halloween-themed trick-or-treating buckets ready to cross-sell. Are you selling outdoor home decorations? Suggest purchasing indoor ones to enhance the festive atmosphere.

Up-selling encourages customers to upscale their purchase or upgrade it to a more valuable, expensive model.

Some Halloween examples of this technique could include suggesting customers who shop for costumes also to purchase related accessories (wigs, hats, make-up kits) to elevate the look or getting a matching outfit for a partner or costume sets for a group of friends. If you’re selling regular home decorations in your ecommerce store – you could propose getting life-size props instead to make a bigger impact, or more hi-tech ones, e.g., a fog machine, to create an exceptional Halloween party scenography.

#6 Halloween Ecommerce Idea: Treat customers with free delivery and returns

While we’re on the topic of encouraging purchases, why not incentivize sales with free delivery and returns? They can significantly maximize buyer confidence.

A UPS study showed that 63% of online shoppers are more likely to purchase something from a retailer if they offer free delivery.

Consumer psychology surveys show that 67% of clients check the returns page before buying something online. Free returns can ease them into making the final purchase.

Learning how to use shipping to boost your sales is key to a successful international ecommerce strategy. It’s a great way to increase your checkout conversion rates plus attract new customers. You can explore how free international shipping could work on orders over a certain amount or for a limited time.

#7 Halloween Ecommerce Idea: Don’t be scared to sell last-minute

Online sellers should start acquiring potential Halloween customers a few weeks before the 31st of October. What will help you with successful planning is keeping track of the international ecommerce calendar.

However, because Halloween celebrations are still quite a new tradition in many places, many shoppers purchase their costumes and decorations at the last minute.

One of the best ways to boost online sales close to the holiday is to offer fast global shipping on top of the standard delivery option.

Offer guaranteed delivery before Halloween, or better yet – before the weekend of October 25-27, 2023. If you can deliver orders quickly, you’ll surely win extra customers.

Whether regular delivery or priority one-day shipping, ensure you provide a reliable international shipping option. Keep your customers updated on the delivery status of their orders. Include that promise in your listing descriptions, and keep it!

#8 Halloween Ecommerce Idea: Be smart about discounts

Last-minute sales are already driven by a sense of urgency. Some sellers might want to push them further with discounts. But don’t make your items too cheap. Halloween is not Black Friday!

Huge discounts may help sell but might also backfire by causing you to devalue your brand, raise suspicion with potential clients, or even generate something you didn’t prepare for, like a stockout.

Rather than aggressively discounting singular items, try grouping selected products into bundle deals. Look at your current stock. Check for items that generate less revenue than expected. Pair things up and offer a small discount for the set. Keep it in line with the Halloween spirits! Present bundled decoration sets for specific themes (e.g., haunted mansion, graveyard, or witch’s lair) to provide a cohesive look with one purchase.

Boost your Halloween sales: Conclusion

Halloween is not just a holiday; it’s a thriving ecommerce season filled with opportunities for online sellers worldwide.

With Halloween gatherings becoming increasingly popular internationally, outside the United States, it’s easier than ever to sell on new untapped markets. There’s a good chance you will achieve outstanding sales figures if you plan a holistic international ecommerce campaign.

Halloween can be tricky. Some people plan to order their spooky gadgets ahead of time, but many people are spontaneous and decide to go to a Halloween party last minute. Don’t judge! Instead, welcome them to your online shop and treat them with exceptional customer service and a sense of reliability.

If you’re new to the international logistics territory, don’t fret. Halloween might be an excellent occasion to get creative as well as leverage cutting-edge seller tools. Explore a reliable full-stack solution to represent and distribute your brand on international markets, and make the last quarter of this year the most successful for your online store yet.

Plan your sales, not only for Halloween, with our useful guide

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