Spooktacular Spells for Halloween Displays
Hello again, Retail Magic Makers! Good visual merchandising takes planning so, even though we’ve just got the kids back to school (Mums like me breathe a sigh of relief!) I 'm here to help you get prepared for the next retail event: Halloween.
Big American-style Halloween celebrations are a growing trend in the UK. Recent research by Live and Breathe highlighted that six out of ten consumers (59%) now celebrate the traditionally US event. I'm delighted when I see our local retailers’ creative visual merchandising and window displays getting stronger every year for this increasingly popular holiday - rest assured, it’s so easy to achieve a great look, enticing customers into your store and encouraging social media sharing of your display online too.
“As a child, I always knew Hallowe'en by the original pagan festival name of Samhain. A terrifying time when tales of the ghostly Puca, the wailing Banshee and the Lost Souls would wander the streets of suburban Dublin. I lived in fear of finding a comb on the ground, a sure sign that the Banshee was close-by combing her horrible straggly hair, and I dared not look in any mirrors on the 31st October in case I saw the deceased (this tradition also was observed on 1st November!). Costumes and masks were a highlight too - from designing and planning elaborate disguises, to ultimately going with the last-minute 'Witch costume made from a Black Plastic Bin Liner' look! Door collections for sweets and monkey nuts were straightforward -"Help the Halloween Party!" was our chant - none of your trick-or-treat stuff. And, of course, there were the gloriously ghoulish shop window displays of black rubbery bats, scary fuzzy spiders, wafting white webs and plump orange pumpkins that enthralled, excited and helped create an electric atmosphere...This is Halloween Magic!”
To get you started on creating your own bespoke Halloween Retail Magic, here are some of our own favourite Spooky Spells for 2020...and never fear, there will be more articles to follow too!
Ghoulish Gravediggers: a special Halloween cinema night in Armagh's Spooky Shambles Market included Venetian Black Plague Doctor masks, hooded capes and magical floating candles (loo roll tubes, battery operated tealights, drizzled glue & wire to suspend!)
Smashing Pumpkins: to put a tarnished twist on your pumpkins, trying spraying with metallic paint. We dressed our Halloween table-centrepieces with fresh ivy, teeny bats, black silk roses and faux succulents. And for an elegant Autumnal display, try heritage grey- and green-hued pumpkins that look stunning when dressed with natural foliage!
It's going tibia okay!: a bit of Halloween humour can always raise our Spirits (sorry!), and scurvy sea-faring skeletons are synonymous with the spookiest time of the year!
So, hopefully that has given you all some Trick-Or-Treats for thought - keep in touch for more Halloween inspiration from Creating Retail Magic!
If you’re excited, or worried, about your seasonal displays, simply get in touch with us at 07586 355 355 for a chat and we’ll help you make this Halloween season the best one yet for your store and your customers,
