Fresh flowers typically means Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day, but this year, UrbanStems, an online flower delivery company, is trying to convince its customers to send a bouquet for Halloween too.
On October 1, the Washington, D.C-based business unveiled four new designs of pink, red, and orange roses, mums, and calla lilies that each come with a custom tarot card.
UrbanStems CEO Meenakshi Lala knows that most people “don’t wake up in October and say, ‘Hey Halloween is coming. I should be sending flowers to mom,’” but she is betting on a shift in spooky season spending. As more consumers shell out for gifts and home decorations, instead of just candy and costumes, UrbanStems is offering a limited-edition collection of moody florals.
“Halloween has grown far beyond the trick or treating,” says Lala. “It’s become, I think, one of the biggest cultural moments of the year.”
She is not the only executive making that calculation. This Halloween, candy companies, chocolate makers, and all the usual pumpkin spicers will not be the only businesses angling for boost. Plenty of other businesses have found ways to channel the macabre and capitalize on the holiday fervor. The founders and CEOs of these unlikely holiday beneficiaries say Halloween has become a multi-billion-dollar opportunity to drive sales with limited-edition products and boost brand recognition with Instagram-able moments.
This boost could come at a particularly beneficial time. Shoppers have grown increasingly sour about higher prices from tariffs and a weaker job market. Last month, consumer sentiment fell near a record low. After the University of Michigan released its latest survey, Elizabeth Renter, a senior economist at NerdWallet, wrote in an analysis, “You have to go back to the Great Recession to see economic vibes this bad.”
Despite the foul mood, Halloween remains a bright spot that consumers are willing to open their wallets for. Americans are expected to spend a record $13.1 billion on Halloween this year, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics. That’s up from $11.6 billion last year. More than half of people said they planned to decorate their home or yard, and a quarter said they will be attending a haunted house.
Some of those thrill seekers will be driving through one in Rockaway, New Jersey where Streamline Car Wash hosts its annual “Screamline Haunted Car Wash” The small business’s Halloween tradition started five years ago and has grown to include more than two dozen actors, animatronics, fog machines, and a light show. Last year, people drove from as far away as Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, says co-owner Adam Gilbert. The event even attracted a few influencers, whose videos racked up millions of views and hundreds of thousands of shares.
“It was crazy,” recalls Gilbert, who says about 1,000 cars turned out in a single night last year with the line stretching into two neighboring towns. This year, to better handle that level of demand, Streamline is offering timed tickets for $40, not including fees.
While the car wash turns a profit on its haunted house (Gilbert declined to specify how much), the biggest benefit has been exposure. Plenty of those visitors return for actual car washes, adds Gilbert, who typically sees an uptick in sales and unlimited memberships in the months following the haunted house
“It’s our biggest advertisement of the year,” he says.
Coconut water brand Vita Coco is also thinking beyond its core products this Halloween. The New York City-based company dropped mystery kits filled with Halloween costumes for Labubu dolls. The free perk for loyalty members prompted more than 4,000 people to join the brand’s loyalty program and sold out within less than a minute.
“We noticed people on social talking about dressing up their Labubus for Halloween, so we figured, why not create some costumes ourselves?” Vita Coco chief marketing officer Jane Prior wrote in an email to Inc. “The response blew us away.”
Still, founders and CEOs should remember that moments like Halloween “are not dollar for dollar instant gratification,” says Lala. “You have to continue winning that customer back with every transaction.”
That’s why UrbanStems is already working on a new seasonal floral drop for Thanksgiving.
Ali Donaldson
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