New data reveals buying habits of Halloween shoppers as Central England Co-op offers range of options to enjoy a spook-tacular celebration at home

Posted by james brindle | Published: 16/10/2020


Central England Co-op has released details of what Halloween shoppers put in their baskets last year and what is on offer to help people enjoy the festivities at home during these uncertain times.

With the ongoing impact and uncertainties of the Coronavirus pandemic Halloween is expected to look very different this year, however some trends from recent years are still expected to continue for 2020.

Data gathered from sales across the retailer’s 245 food stores from Halloween 2019 highlighted a continuing trend over recent years of Halloween not just being for kids, with a rise in shoppers putting products in their baskets for parties or perhaps nights in with a scary film.

This was seen in a 4% rise in beer, wine and spirits sales during Halloween week following similar rises in previous years, while sharing bags of crisps saw a 29% jump last year and Co-op Sweet Popcorn sharing bags were up 11% year on year.

The popularity of gin also continued to rise, no doubt fuelling the 40% rise in year on year sales of Co-op Low Calorie Tonic Water. Meanwhile the low alcohol trend continued into Halloween 2019 with a 34% rise compared to 12 months previously, with Co-op Low Alcohol Sauvignon Blanc a big seller in Halloween week.

While Halloween parties may have to wait for another year, people can still enjoy a spooky tipple at home in their household and Central England Co-op has some great options this year.

They include the Handmade Gin Company’s Pumpkin Spice Gin Liqueur (700ml, priced £25), while for real ale fans there is Adnams Ghost Ship Beer (500ml, priced £2) and why not compliment them with Adnams Ghost Ship Beery Peanuts (110g, priced £2.75).

For families spending Halloween at home there are still lots of great options following on from growing trends of recent years.

Wrap up warm and fire up the barbecue in the garden with a hot dog and a scary story under the stars. Co-op Butchers Choice Pork Sausages saw a huge 285% rise in sales last Halloween, while Energiser Pocket Torches were a big seller, with batteries also seeing a 13% rise.

Make your home spook-tastic for the kids with Co-op Halloween String Lights (£3), Halloween Bunting (£1.25), Halloween Tea Lights (£1), Boo Balloons (£1.25), Co-op Halloween Napkins (£1) and Co-op Halloween Plates (£1).

While trick or treating may also be hard this year, why not make it an at home scavenger hunt trick or treat for the kids with Co-op Halloween Buckets (£1) and lots of delicious sweet treat options including Co-op Filled Brains (£1), Co-op Fizzy Spiders (£1) and Co-op Strawberry Zombie Mummy Eye Balls (£1).

For more ideas visit Central England Co-op’s special Halloween webpage at https://www.centralengland.coop/food/halloween

 

Notes to editors

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK with interests in food, funeral, floral and property investment.

Co-operatives have always been there for their communities; they were formed to protect them and help them flourish. 

Our 7,550 colleagues who serve Members and customers work hard to ensure that co-operative values, principles and spirit flow through everything we do to help support and improve our local communities.

Owned by hundreds of thousands of Members, we have over 400 trading outlets across 16 counties including West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. 

We are proud of our reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.

We invest a percentage of our trading profit into local communities through our Community Dividend Fund scheme, have donated over £1.3 million to our corporate charity partner Dementia UK and also operate a pioneering food redistribution partnership with FareShare Midlands so unsold food goes to those in need.

Visit www.centralengland.coop for more information or follow us on Facebook or Twitter using @mycoopfood

Press office contacts: Rob Smyth and James Brindle

Phone - 01543 421390

Email - publicrelations@centralengland.coop