Halloween in Ukraine: window decoration, promotions and store preparation

Why Halloween

Halloween comes from the English «All Hallows’ Eve» — «the evening of all saints» or «the evening before All Saints’ Day». The history of the name is ancient: in Middle English, «hallow» meant holy, and «eve» — evening before. Over time, the phrase transformed into «Hallowe’en», and then into the modern «Halloween». Halloween is also called «Witches’ Night» in Slavic countries, «Night of the Witches» (Slovene Noč čarovnic, Croatian Noć vještica) in the Balkan countries, and Night of All Souls — this occurs in poetry. Black Friday — sale days in stores on Halloween. This holiday is observed on November 1, but sales start not on the day Halloween is celebrated, but already from the beginning of October. 

Why decorate the shop window for Halloween

The main goal of any business is profit. Profit depends on the number of customers. Entrepreneurs use holiday window dressing to attract shoppers’ attention, remind them of their brand, and increase sales. Halloween is an opportunity to boost sales not only on the holiday itself, but also in the longer term. A well-designed window display arouses great interest among passersby. They take photos near the decorations as at a photo zone and post them on Instagram, Facebook, and other social networks, which in fact becomes free advertising for the store. If the decorations are truly interesting, photos of your store can reach a large audience and increase customer traffic.

A properly designed shop window can increase the number of customers and sales by 2–3 times. An unsuccessful window display can cause problems and reputational losses. 

Halloween-related conflicts

Sometimes decorations can cause problems. There are not many direct lawsuits over Halloween decor, but there have been cases where decorations led to fires, scandals, police involvement, and legal claims. Most often this happened because the decor was too realistic and perceived as a real threat, or due to violations of safety standards. 

Scandals, police, and court

Unsuccessful decorations, or overly successful ones, have already caused panic and conflicts among the public.

Thus, in 2020 in Texas, USA, on Halloween, artist Steven Novak decorated his house with «bloody murder» scenes: he spilled dozens of liters of fake blood, hung bags and a chainsaw. Neighbors called the police several times, convinced that a real crime had occurred. The police did not fine the artist, but the case received wide publicity and sparked discussions about the limits of «artistic freedom» and public peace. 

In the USA and the UK there were repeated cases of shops using candles and flammable materials in window displays. In 2014, in the state of Illinois, a row of stores burned down due to a pumpkin catching fire from a candle. Those responsible for the fire were fined. 

Sometimes visitors were injured because of decor. In Berlin in 2021, at a themed cafe on Halloween, a visitor stumbled over a fog machine and injured her knee. The establishment was forced to close the decor area, and the local press cited this cafe as an example of non-compliance with safety standards. A similar situation occurred in Prague in a shopping mall. A suspended pumpkin arch fell on two visitors. One of them suffered a concussion. The incident was investigated as a violation of installation techniques. Such situations usually end with complaints and lawsuits to recover medical expenses. 

In Germany and Canada there were cases where stores were accused of discrimination because of displayed Indian masks and inappropriate scenes with mannequins. Owners were not fined, but they were forced to remove the decor.

So, how to avoid unsuccessful decorating?

• Realism — in moderation. Decor that looks like a real crime scene can cause panic and police involvement. 

• Fire safety standards. Use LED lighting instead of candles; avoid flammable materials. 

• Safety first. All elements must be securely fixed; cables should be hidden. 

• «No» to discrimination. Decor should be festive, not offensive. 

Taboo. What is strictly not recommended for Halloween during the war

Do not play on the theme of war and death. 一 This can cause pain and emotional suffering to people, evoke unpleasant associations with your store and, as a result, lead to reputational losses.

Do not stage scenes of crimes, murders, and accidents. 一 During the war, scenes of brutality are perceived acutely, because they are truly present in Ukrainians’ reality — in thoughts, in the news, and some people have experienced violence. So you can make the decor mystical, interesting, scary, but not brutal. 

Do not touch on the topic of mutilations and lost limbs 一 among Halloween decorations there are mock-ups of fingers, hands, legs. Such decorations are inappropriate now. 

Tips on how to properly decorate a store for Halloween

1. Openness. Remove unnecessary partitions so that customers can see the goods even before they enter the store. 

2. Promotions and discounts. Inform about them right on the window display — with stickers, captions, posters. 

3. Price tags. They can also be stylized. But remember — a store looks more solid when price tags are uniform, restrained, and fit the overall style of the space. 

4. Color harmony. The holiday theme should not strongly contrast with the store design. Decorations should be placed so that they draw attention to the store but do not distract from the goods. 

5. Lighting. Use accent lighting to highlight key details and products.

6. Product-story displays. Combine your products with themed characters to create coherent stories. 

7. Minimalism. Avoid clutter — too many decorations, especially non-compositional ones, create a sense of mess and cheapness. 

8. Experiments. Classic design is good, but new ideas and quirks always evoke more emotion, so don’t be afraid to experiment. 

9. A look from the outside. After decorating the window, walk past it and assess from the outside whether it catches your eye and stands out against the surrounding scenery and other windows. Step back from the window to a certain distance and check how well your decorations «stand out» from afar.

Don’t forget about the interior space: add festive elements in the sales area, create islands with gift sets, use light decor on mannequins and tables. 

What influences the choice of window display design

How to prepare your store for Halloween?

• Store location 一 Imagine that there is a school or kindergarten near your store. You decorated the window with terrifying realistic decorations, and children walking past your store get scared, cry, parents calm them down and get nervous. This is definitely not the effect you expected from a Halloween sale. Therefore, when choosing decorations, you should consider the store's location, the type of people who will pass by, and predict the effect you expect and the one you can realistically achieve, taking into account the demographics of your area.

• Store assortment 一 Plush pumpkins would be inappropriate in an electronics store, just as skeletons would be inappropriate in a children's store. Decorations should match the store’s assortment so they do not contrast with but highlight the products on the shelves.

• Target audience 一 Consider the age group of the store's customers. Cheerful decorations and fairy-tale characters are suitable for children, realistic and even scary decor for teenagers, and interesting compositions for adults.

How to combine Halloween decor with store products

Traditional window decorations for Halloween

• Entrance decorations: pumpkins, lanterns, decorative crows, witch hats, brooms, black cats, autumn leaves, vegetables, and fruits. 

• Inside the store: cobwebs and lantern candles, pumpkins, black-and-white balloons, and diffused lighting.

• Minimalist option: pumpkin-shaped discount stickers, black bat-shaped flags. 

It’s important not only to «lure» customers into the store but also to encourage them to buy something. This works best when the festive decor highlights the store’s assortment. 

Decor ideas depending on the store specialization

Cosmetics and perfumery. You can place decorations with «potion» bottles and create the atmosphere of a witch’s laboratory, as if perfumes and creams were elixirs prepared by a witch. 

Electronics store. Around laptops or smartphones, you can create a «cobweb» with lighting and show festive screensavers on the displays. 

Bookstore. Display books with autumn illustrations, including mystical and fantasy stories, in the window.

Clothing store. Dress mannequins in black cloaks or witch hats and place pumpkins with discount messages nearby. 

Children's stores. Create a separate stand with Halloween costumes and dress the mannequins in them for the window display. Add toys with an autumn theme, pumpkins, and black plush cats. Combine the decor with matching toys, for example, «Monster High» or «Frankenstein» dolls.

Newborn goods. In stores selling baby products, even on Halloween, tenderness and care remain appropriate. Knitted decorations can create a good impression. 

Confectionery or coffee shop. Use decorative pumpkin-shaped cakes, and serve real desserts in festive packaging. 

Liquor store. The target audience is adults only. A simple but expressive decor is appropriate. For example, a garland of cans in the window.

Electrical goods. This is a chance to showcase a variety of garlands and lights in your store. Make the lighting multicolored, stock up on Halloween garlands and nightlights: pumpkins, ghosts, cats. Decorate the window with them — it signals to customers that if they need interesting themed lamps and garlands, they should come to you, and not just for Halloween.

Plumbing store. This is a store rarely visited with children, so you don’t need to limit realism too much. For example, you could place a sink in the window as if a monster were stuck in the drain, and nearby place drain cleaning products.

Such combinations not only create a festive atmosphere but also make the product the main highlight of the window display.

How to prepare the store for Halloween?

• Plan the assortment and place supplier orders in advance to ensure that goods are in stock during the holiday season. It is convenient to plan the assortment by analyzing the results of last year's sales. It is easy to track which items were popular and which were not, and which brought the highest profit using Analysis in the Torgsoft accounting software. Don’t forget to check if there are any leftover Halloween goods from last year. In Torgsoft, such goods can be stored in a seasonal storage box. 

• Plan discounts and promotions in advance. It is important to calculate discounts correctly so that the profit from promotional sales exceeds full-price sales. You can offer discounts on specific products, run a «Bring a Friend» promotion, or set the price based on the quantity purchased. Promotions and discounts in the store are better to plan in advance, and in Torgsoft this process can be automated. Also, don’t forget about exchange rate changes if you buy goods in a foreign currency. After the sales, you’ll need to restock at the new exchange rate. 

• Decorate the store window inside and outside, and style the price tags. Price tag templates can be configured in the software.

• Prepare the store for possible power and internet outages. It is very unpleasant when the power goes out during the workday. It’s even worse when it happens on a sale day with many customers and high profit potential. Prepare for possible force majeure in advance to continue making sales regardless of power or internet availability: install specialized accounting software and provide the store with autonomous power supply.
  

Useful links:

How to prepare a store for Black Friday?

Types of discounts and how to set them up in the accounting software

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