Too early for Halloween? Windsor fright fans flock to store opening

It may only be August, but hundreds of Windsorites flocked to the grand opening of a shop selling Halloween gear Friday.

“Windsor is a huge Halloween town,” said Robert Karagovski, the district manager overseeing the Spirit Halloween store.

“Last year we opened on August 18 and people were waiting, so this year we had the opportunity to start a little earlier,” he said.

Other stores, too, spooking out their shelves while many are still getting ready to do back to school shopping.

It’s a trend seen worldwide – seasonal merchandise hitting shelves earlier and earlier.

An even creepier version of the so-called “Christmas creep,” if you will.

Retail analyst Bruce Winder told CTV News that stores have some shelf space at this point in the summer – and want you to see the product there, even if you’re not going to come back and buy it until a later point in time.

A young Halloween enthusiast mulled over the purchase of an artificial dismembered head at Spirit Halloween on August 4, 2023. (Travis Fortnum/CTV News Windsor)

“The theory is, the earlier you get out there, the more you get in front of the customer, the more you sort of insert yourself as a category into their minds,” said Winder.

It’s hard to say whether or not that tactic actually pays off, according to Winder, considering consumers aren’t polled on that front.

He said it’s also going to be a tough year for such sales, as people pinch pennies amidst inflation.

“It’s going to be a tough season for discretionary categories like Halloween and Christmas décor, because people are spending more money on food and rent,” said Winder.

You wouldn’t be able to tell on Friday, as a steady stream of Halloween enthusiasts kept cashiers busy.

Hundreds of people swept through Spirit Halloween as it opened August 4, 2023, for the season. (Travis Fortnum/CTV News Windsor)

“Mainly the people that are coming in the first week are the fanatics that want to do setups,” Karagovski said.

That’s exactly what brought Adrian Diett out – purchasing an animatronic jack o’lantern.

“Things go so fast that if you don’t get it now, you may have to order it and you may not get it until right before Halloween,” he said. “And everything’s gotta be set up September 1, according to my wife.”