This Halloween, don’t be afraid to leverage your brick-and-mortar store as the go-to destination for costuming and dress-up accessories. Creating displays that showcase your merchandise, as well as your creativity, is a powerful way not only to attract attention from your existing customer base, but also to bring in new, nondance customers. What you already have on-hand (plus a few witchy props) can help you position yourself as the local Halloween headquarters.
DRN spoke to four retailers about how they decorate their stores. Read on for some holiday inspiration.
Engage With the Community
Laura Kinsley, owner of Lucky Dancewear in Chapel Hill, NC, casts a spooky spell on her front window during the holiday season, and the locals take note. “My store is located in a mixed commercial and residential area, so a lot of residents pass by my window on their morning or evening walk,” she says. “I’m happy to keep them guessing what my next window display will look like. It’s a great way to become memorable in the area, and I love being known as ‘the store with the gorgeous window displays.’ ”
Last Halloween, suspended witches’ hats, flickering “floating” candles, fluttering bats, and cascading fall leaves transformed the storefront into a scene straight out of a magical forest. “Every year my designs evolve and change,” says Kinsley. “When I found a way to have a bat ‘flying’ around the window, I knew I had to lean into some spooky vibes for October.” At the center, a sparkling black tutu completed the display. Although the tutu was a prop and not for sale, it still draws in plenty of customers asking to buy it.
Sales Tip! Use electric candles in your Halloween displays to illuminate your store windows overnight, drawing attention to your store long after the shop has closed for the day.
Show Off Your Creative Side
Help your customers come up with costume ideas and you’re likely to earn their continued loyalty. If you’ve already stocked versatile basics like leotards, skirts, and tights, you’re in a great position to help shoppers connect the dots for their trick-or-treat costumes through creative displays. At Movin’ Easy Dancewear in Austin, TX, the most common Halloween customer is someone looking for a last-minute costume for a party or something to wear to a themed class. “Having our ideas on mannequins helps our customers with inspiration,” says manager Lauren Hawkins.
Creative Tip! Adapt these costume ideas from Movin’ Easy in your shop:
- Witch: Rhinestone fishnets, black dance bra, a mesh black top, and two black skirts for layering. “We topped off the mannequin with a witch hat that had a wig attached,” says Hawkins.
- Angel: White leotard, tights, and a skirt or tutu. “All the customer needs [then] is a halo and wings,” Hawkins adds.
- Pirate: A red-and-black leotard, a ballroom skirt with a wild pattern, a pirate hat, and an eye patch.
- Workout Barbie: A 1980s print leotard, trash-bag shorts
Make It Sweet
Play with the sugar-fueled whimsy of Halloween with a candy-inspired display, like the one at The Dance Bag in Modesto, CA. Owner Holly Bertucci says the store’s front window gets a lot of sun that fades merchandise quickly, so she has to think outside the box to create dance-related displays that grab attention. “Our most recent Halloween window featured six bodices with painted pumpkin heads,” she says. “It was a little creepy, but very visual and cute.”
The display was made with faux pumpkins from Hobby Lobby, bodices sewn from candy-print fabric, and matching tutus. “On the floor of the window, we added sparkly lights, leaf garlands, and small painted pumpkins in different sizes to fill in the rest of the space,” Bertucci says.
Sales Tip! Make it interactive. Bertucci had customers vote on their favorite pumpkin character in the display. She also held a coloring contest for kids. “It was a great way to bring people into the store after that back-to-school rush,” she says.
Highlight Classwear for Your Existing Customers
Halloween week at dance studios is always an anticipated event. Use your displays to show off ghoulish outfit ideas for wearing to class. “It’s the perfect time to pair new black leotards with easy Halloween costume pieces, like a witch hat or cat ears,” says Laura Hudson, owner of The Dance Shoppe in Palm Harbor, FL. “Last year, I had a customer purchase the entire cat costume off our mannequin.”
In addition to encouraging customers to buy full outfits, you can also inspire seasonal add-on purchases. At The Dance Bag, Bertucci displays fall- and Halloween-themed tutu skirts, scrunchies, bows, and headbands, with a small sign that reads, to prompt impulse buys, “Add a little sparkle to your dancewear.”
Sales Tip! Create a promotion to go along with your display. Hudson offers 10 percent off anything black. On Facebook, she shares a photo of her displays with the caption “There’s nothing scary about this sales rack.”
The Bottom Line
As the back-to-school crowds slow down, take a few moments to incorporate one of these Halloween displays into your store to capture another wave of fall sales. Use the playfulness of the holiday to your advantage this year to get more out of a traditionally slower month.
Libby Basile is a former editor for Dance Retailer News and a specialty-retail storeowner based in Cheshire, CT.