If you are a retail business owner, you know that being kid-friendly at Halloween is a great gesture to foster relationships with customers who have children. Putting out candy in a bowl on the counter may not be the answer this year, but there are lots of ways that you can make your retail location a trick-or-treat haven.

  • Host a “Trunk or treat” event in the parking lot with a number of other retailers in the same plaza. Give each store enough space to park a car and showcase some products using the trunk of the car and movable fixtures – every space is more than six feet apart. The idea is for kids and parents to go car-to-car with their goodie bags to collect treats, and to give parents a quick look at some of your store’s best-selling items. Make sure you have movable racks, tables and shelves to create your outdoor display. Preferably, treats are individually wrapped and handled by only one employee, who is masked and gloved.
  • Have a “Store Gore” decorating theme. Go all-out with Halloween decorations this year, including lots of spider webs, zombie mannequins, witches, bats and more. Use lighting in display cases and around shelving to increase the “scare factor.” Spotlight key merchandise with purple, orange or white lighting.
  • Hold a Halloween fashion show in your store, with the catwalk or runway weaving through the store. Show children that “X marks the spot,” and challenge them to take between 6 and 8 steps to get to the next X. Encourage customers to bring their children to show off their costumes while social distancing. Because the runway weaves throughout the store, parents will be able to see the merchandise in various locations. Have treats that are handed to children from a gloved distributor. The treats should be sealed in their own packaging.
  • Host a virtual Halloween party. Promote the link to a Zoom meeting both in-store and online as well as in email blasts to customers. Create a “set” in your store, where you can highlight products during the party by stacking them on shelves or hanging them on slatwall. Let participants show off their costumes and enter a contest where everyone virtually votes. You can show this party live on a big screen display in your store.