UK Halloween and Bonfire Night Market Report 2025
"Strong interest in Halloween and Bonfire Night activities with a twist will create new opportunities for retailers to engage consumers, both in and out of the home."
Emily Viberg, Retail analyst
- Consumer spending on both Halloween and Bonfire Night products grew strongly in 2025. In particular, fancy dress spending saw a notable jump, driven by the influence of popular TV shows and movies.
- Convenience is critical to the purchase of products for both events, and this is opening up new opportunities within the rapid delivery space. Retailers and platforms can capitalise on this by offering complete seasonal ranges through express delivery, providing a streamlined shopping experience.
- Social media’s influence on purchasing continues to grow, with more shopping directly through such platforms, making it crucial for retailers to engage with shoppers in the channel and convert inspiration into impulse purchasing.
- For in-home food and drink offerings, retailers can stand out by creating themed bundles inspired by popular TV series and movies. With 61% of shoppers expressing interest in curated options, combining themed food and drink with matching accessories or makeup ensures customers can conveniently purchase everything they need for their celebrations in one go.
This Report Looks at the Following Areas:
- Products purchased for Halloween and Bonfire Night 2025
- Estimated consumer spending on Halloween and Bonfire Night products
- In-home food and drink behaviours for Halloween and Bonfire Night
- Interest in participating in varying activities for future Halloween and Bonfire Night events
- Key innovations and new product development for Halloween 2025
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Outlook for Halloween and Bonfire Night
- Opportunities
- Position Halloween and Bonfire Night as key gifting moments
- Leverage cultural moments to elevate the in-store shopping experience
- Collaborate with local attractions to capture out of home celebrations
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THE MARKET
- Snapshot – market size
- ‘TikTokTober’ helps grow TikTok Shop use
- Graph 1: number of customers and number of transaction on TikTok Shop, 2024-25
- Council bans threaten future of Bonfire Night events
- Special effects makeup to revive interest in Halloween cosmetics
- Inflation across confectionery remained high in 2025
- Graph 2: consumer price inflation in chocolate and confectionery products, 2025
- Think beyond traditional confectionery categories for trick or treating
- Halloween and Bonfire both see strong growth in 2025
- Popular culture boosts spending in fancy dress
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THE CONSUMER
- Products purchased for Halloween and Bonfire Night 2025
- 16-34s lead confectionery purchases, but pull back on cosmetics
- Graph 3: purchasing of select products for Halloween by those aged 16-34, 2025
- Social media boosts purchasing across key categories
- Graph 4: select products purchased for Halloween and Bonfire Night, by those who directly purchased through social media, 2025
- Boost fancy dress purchasing with look-alike contests
- Consumers want quick and seamless shopping experiences
- Streamlined delivery a must for 16-34s
- Elevate food and drink ranges for in-home dining
- Themed bundles can elevate celebrations at home
- Make Halloween/Bonfire Night products part of the wellness offer
- Make in-home food and drink ranges a family affair
- Generation Z shows keen interest in TV/movie themed food/drink bundles
- Interest in future Halloween and Bonfire Night activities
- Shoppers want activities with a twist
- Retailers can still capitalise on celebrations beyond the home
- Engage home cooks with fun but stress-free cooking events
- More scope for child-free celebrations in store
- Tap into the community spirit by teaming up with local attractions
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RETAILER ACTIVITY
- Trick-or-treat alternatives to boost NPD
- Seasonal event crossovers inspire Halloween NPD
- Halloween is getting crowded
- Glow in the dark a key packaging trend for 2025
- Get creative with multisensory packaging
- More opportunity to boost beverages at Halloween
- M&S inspires in-store shoppers with its Halloween cocktail recipes
- Halloween is increasingly an occasion for gifting
- Stranger Things mania takes hold of retailers
- London’s underground stations get into the spooky spirit
- Advent calendars join retailers Halloween lineup
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APPENDIX
- The consumer
- Consumer research questions
- Consumer research methodology
- UK generation groups
- Other data source methodologies
- Mintel Spark
- Snoop SpendMapper methodology
- Abbreviations
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