Kids might not be trick-or-treating as much as they used to, but Halloween still scares up substantial candy sales for supermarkets.
The holiday accounts for $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion in total candy sales annually -- more than any other selling period, according to the National Confectioners Association, the members of which include industry giants such as M&M/Mars, Hershey and Nestle, as well as smaller specialty and seasonal candymakers and their suppliers.
NCA estimated that more than one-third of those Halloween candy sales are in supermarkets.
The holiday merchandising event still stands as the biggest sales season for many chains, said retailers and candy industry sources contacted by SN.
Some said that sales growth may be slowing, for reasons such as an overall decline in trick-or-treating, or sharper competition from other trade classes. But most of the sources interviewed said they expect this year's season to remain strong.
"1993 was great -- better than 1992," according to Nick Oakley, candy buyer at Fred Meyer Inc., Portland, Ore. Asked if Halloween is trending downward as a candy-purchasing holiday, Oakley said, "I think not."
One reason, they said, is a nostalgic tendency among adults to splurge on candy for Halloween, buying their own favorite treats to hand out to trick-or-treaters and also consume themselves.
Among their plans:
Big displays, many of them focusing outside of the candy aisle.
An emphasis on branded chocolate and other well-known products, targeting more adult tastes.
Timing promotions well in advance of Halloween to encourage early purchases (and consumption), and in some cases overlap with back-to-school promotions.
Tom Sheldon, candy buyer at Fry's Food Stores, Phoenix, said Halloween is his leading candy holiday, followed by Christmas, Easter and Valentine's Day.
"Halloween is a good candy time," for the simple reason that "kids want candy," said Slater Browne, candy buyer at Smitty's Super Valu, also based in Phoenix.
But other retailers are convinced adults want candy, too, though they may not admit it so readily. Chains set their assortments accordingly.
"The baby-boom generation looks for candy that was their favorite when they were kids," Sheldon observed. "People buy candy they'll eat themselves because they never know nowadays if they're going to have 20 trick-or-treaters or 200. Either way, they want to be prepared."
"I don't know if it's a health issue or not, but a lot of people just aren't buying candy anymore," said Ross Nixon, vice president of merchandising at Dahl's Food Stores, Des Moines, Iowa.
"On the other hand, people seem to buy their old favorites at least one time a year -- at Halloween," he said. "They figure, 'Hey, a little bit won't hurt.' People buy more impulsively at Halloween. Of course, when they've got kids knocking on their doors at 5:30, they don't want to be caught short." The result: Halloween is the biggest candy holiday by far at Dahl's.
For the most part, traditional favorites such as fun-size Snickers and Milky Way bars, M&Ms in individual packets and Nestle and Hershey minibars remain best-sellers for Halloween at supermarkets.
Fun-size chocolate bars were named as the No. 1 Halloween item at Fry's, as well as Fred Meyer, Scott's Food Stores in Fort Wayne, Ind., and others.
"The staple items are the chocolate candy bars in fun sizes. Those do very, very well; they are the best ones," said Dave Dickerson, grocery merchandiser at 14-store Scott's. "People buy what they like themselves in case there are leftovers."
Meanwhile, at 47-store Fry's, "Halloween-specific" lollipops and salt-water taffy packaged in orange and black are sliding in popularity. "Demand for those is not what it once was," and sales of candy corn and loose-pack mellow creams have also declined, Sheldon said.
At Scott's, however, candy corn and other sugar items continue to do well, said Dickerson.
At one Florida supermarket chain, a buyer who asked not to be named said fun-size Snickers and Milky Way bars and other "recognizable" names are expected to be top sellers. Items featuring TV, movie and cartoon characters will also have a strong showing, the buyer added.
Browne said chocolates are still king at Smitty's, but said children's novelty items will sell well, too.
One aspect of the holiday drew a strong consensus: It is probably the most likely time for
supermarkets to concentrate on mass candy displays and try to encourage large rings on impulse.
Smitty's 29 stores will build haunted houses and other traditional displays of Halloween candy in various departments -- anywhere, in fact, except the candy aisle, Browne said. Manufacturer-provided counters, easels and other displays will be used for volume-selling items.
The buyer at the Florida chain said her company's stores will have display contests. Displays may be built throughout the stores, often starting with bulk candies in produce -- usually the first department in the traffic flow.
Often, Halloween displays are placed near seafood or other high-traffic, perimeter departments, as well as in a promotional aisle, she said, and Halloween items are incorporated in the chain's club-pack aisle. However, she said, her company does not attempt to compete head-to-head on price with neighboring club stores.
The Florida company uses primarily basket dump displays, which can be refilled as items sell.
At Fry's, Halloween displays will be positioned in a promotional aisle between grocery and video departments.
Every retailer surveyed cross-merchandises napkins and paper partyware, costume accessories (and in some cases costumes), arrangements of fresh or dried flowers and gift items along with Halloween candy. Often, soft drinks and other items also may be incorporated.
"We go full bore with a pretty good-sized spook house display in most stores, especially the combo stores," Smitty's Browne said. "We make them out of cardboard or paper, and a lot of vendors provide materials. Last year, Pepsi was a main part of a lot of displays. We'll take any kind of help we can get."
The Florida retailer who preferred not to be named even built a haunted house out of 12-packs of beer when a beer vendor provided display assistance. "But we prefer to use soda," she said.
Bill Sheehan, NCA's director of communications, said while most candy purchases are impulse sales, Halloween candy is also often a planned purchase, making merchandising and display doubly important.
He added that with candy selling faster at Halloween, it's also important to check for out-of-stocks and avoid bare spots in seasonal displays.
"A lot of profitable product is going to move, and you don't want the consumer to buy somewhere else if you run out of that person's favorite," he said.
One retailer was planning a Halloween party in July -- for vendors. The Florida buyer said she will reserve space at a local hotel and invite vendors to bring in Halloween items, as well as Christmas and Valentine's Day items.
"I'll look at 1,000 items, then I'll show the stores about 300. I'll give them 10 or 15 definite ad items, and after that, each store can pick and choose what's good for their customer base," she said.
Like some other retailers, she expects Halloween items to be shipped in August so stores can overlap the back-to-school selling season, which begins in August, and Halloween, which kicks off Oct. 1. Fun-size candy bars are the right portion for trick-or-treat sacks and lunch boxes.
Sheldon said Fry's begins merchandising Halloween items right after Labor Day.
At Scott's, Halloween is an eight-week selling season, Dickerson said.
Browne said Smitty's begins setting out Halloween displays in September. However, they are displayed separately from back-to-school items.
"We pretty well try to keep the seasons separate. We don't want to get too confusing," he said.
Some supermarkets reported Halloween sales are not what they once were. Concern over tampering and traffic safety has cut into the popularity of the trick-or-treat tradition in some regions of the country. Some communities sponsor children's parties or other alternatives. Stiff competition from other classes of trade also carves into supermarket sales, and price competition cuts their margins.
"There was a time when the grocery store was the main driving force for Halloween, and stores like Target [discount stores] didn't carry Halloween candy," Fry's Sheldon observed. "That has switched. I'll bet [discounters, drug stores and mass merchandisers] have taken away a third of Halloween sales [from supermarkets]. I don't think too many retailers would disagree with that."
Sheldon said he tries to stay competitive with discounters, but "that doesn't leave us much room for margin if we are to be profitable. We try to match their price on features, but [on other items] we are somewhat higher than the mass merchandisers.
"Some competitors use Halloween candy as a loss leader. We have not done that," Sheldon said. He added that 15 years ago, "you could count on a 50% gross profit on candy. Now it's half of that."
Clubs, he added, are not normally considered direct competitors of Fry's because of the sizes they carry, but at Halloween, shoppers want quantity packaging as they prepare for trick-or-treaters.
A 1993 survey for NCA indicated consumers still make most of their candy purchases at the supermarket, despite competition from mass merchandisers, drug stores and club stores.
