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Trick or treat? FMCG drives 11% of Halloween online sales

Written by Angela Davey on 3 minute read

Don't get a scare this Halloween, Awin data reveals retail treats with £13.45 increase in AOV for womenswear YoY.

Key takeaways 

  • FMCG generates 11% of sales over the Halloween period. 
  • Womenswear saw an increase of £13.45 in AOV between October 2021 and 2022. 
  • AOV for health & beauty retailers sits at £62.47 in October. 

With less than twelve weeks until Christmas (yes, really), Q4 is well and truly upon us. While the focus of the Golden Quarter is usually upon Cyber Weekend, Halloween is often overlooked. However, this is a key shopping period for fashion, beauty and confectionary retailers.  

Halloween spending on the rise 

Research by Finder.com predicts that Brits are expected to spend £28.95 million on pumpkins alone in 2022, +15% more than last year’s spend of £25.17 million. Total Halloween spend for this year is estimated at £687 million, an increase of +£80 million versus 2021. With Stranger Things, The Addams Family and Cruella De Vil expected to provide much of the costume inspiration for this year, AOV on clothing alone is looking to be higher than ever.   

Data tracked on Awin’s partner platform shows the most popular sub-verticals throughout October this year as: fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), accounting for 11% of sales generated, health & beauty (11% of sales generated), womenswear (11% of sales generated), general clothing (10% of sales generated) and shoes (5% of sales generated). Compared with data in 2021, FMCG has seen a sales increase of +1%. Health & beauty remained steady at 11%, alongside shoes, unmoving at 5%. General clothing saw +1% increase between 2021 and 2022, while womenswear dropped by -2%. 

A taste for sweet treats  

Bar chart showing YoY sales

In fact, FMCG has performed exceptionally well this year for affiliates, with +16.33% increase in sales for the year overall (and the year is far from over) and +20% increase in AOV; on average customers have spent a total of £43.70 per shop across 2022. During October, this jumped by +41% to £56.43, as consumers stock up on pumpkins and sweets for trick or treaters. 

Line graph showing YoY growth

Beauty goes bump in the night 

Health & beauty this year has generated a healthy AOV of £58.05, +9% increase from 2021 and +27% increase in sales. In October this year, AOV jumped to £62.47. LOOKFANTASTIC UK are one of Awin’s top performers in this sub-vertical, with its most popular product this Halloween, Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray helping to bump up AOV with RRP at £27. 

Bar chart showing YoY beauty performance

Spooky sales surge for fashion retailers 

boohoo.com UK & IE is leading the way in womenswear this Halloween. The vertical overall has seen +31% increase in sales YoY, with an AOV lift around +5%. AOV for October this year has been particularly strong, with customers filling their baskets with around £65.86 worth of goods each time they shop, £13.45 increase from October 2021. With boohoo.com boasting more than 800 items specifically targeted for Halloween, it’s no wonder that this sub-vertical sees such an uplift at this time of year. 

For more information on Halloween shopping trends, and how it might benefit your brand, please get in touch with a member of the Awin Client Partnerships Team.

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