15 Halloween Marketing Tricks That Treat Your Bottom Line

Halloween amuses kids and adults alike. People spend lavishly to celebrate it with costumes, candy, and decorations. In the U.S. alone, the total Halloween expenditure exceeds $10 billion.

Considering this, it makes sense for you to open the holiday sale sooner, somewhere around early October. Because this is the time when many people plan in-store Halloween purchases, and 47% begin holiday shopping before the holidays. In retail or e-commerce, this becomes an opportunity to attract buyers into your store, brick-and-mortar, or online. 

You need to put up an amusing show to get shoppers to purchase from you. These Halloween marketing and promotion ideas help ensure you don’t leave any stone unturned to take your shot at this opportunity. 

Why Halloween Marketing Offers a Great Boost to Your Revenue

There are many reasons that make Halloween marketing essential during the holiday. Here are a few facts to note: 

• An average American spends about $108.24. This mainly goes into costumes. 69% of those who plan to celebrate Halloween purchase a costume, which makes the aggregate costume spend reach close to $4 billion.
• More than 70% Americans participate in Halloween in some way, and nearly half of them start their holiday purchases before October. This early buying trend is strong among 25-34-year-olds. 
• On a global level, Halloween’s footprint is seen among young customers, and purchases are more “treat” oriented. 

Source: NRF

If you’re in the apparel, food and beverages, or cosmetics retail industry, it makes sense for you to capitalize on the heightened demand during the holiday season. Other brands can also promote their categories that align with demand. 

You need proper Halloween marketing and promotion to ensure that demand meets your supply. Here are a few ideas for you to explore and take inspiration from. 

15 Proven Halloween Marketing and Promotion Ideas to Drive Sales

Below are a few Halloween marketing and promotion ideas. Use them as is or take inspiration to design your own. 

1. Themed Halloween Marketing Email Campaigns That Convert

Write eye-catching Halloween email subject lines to improve open rates. For example, 

• “No tricks, just treats: 20% off costumes!”
• “Don’t ghost these Halloween deals!”

Make use of email segmentation and personalization to tailor offers based on the stage of a buyer’s journey. For example, send a first-time trick-or-treater discount to new customers and loyalty perks to repeat buyers. 

CleverTap’s Funnel functionality allows you to set up email automation workflows whenever a particular buyer’s journey stage is triggered. Customers get contextual messaging that aligns with their holiday purchases. They feel more encouraged to explore your store, increasing your chances of turning curious shoppers into customers.

Here’s an example of how the Harry Potter Fan Club ran its Halloween marketing campaign via email. They started with a simple, but relevant subject line, “🎃 Save on costume sets for Hallowe’en 🎃 “

They embedded a Halloween-specific creative in the email with their members fashioning different Harry Potter costumes and props. It offered club members a 20% discount. In the same email, they added a few costume sets that took shoppers directly to the product pages, reducing the steps buyers need to take to reach conversion. 

CleverTap’s email automation platform can handle these journeys, such as triggering a Halloween promo email when a user browses pumpkins, or sending abandoned cart emails with spooky subject lines. This allows you to turn your generic blast into a targeted, journey-specific message, giving you a better chance of conversions.

Get inspired by the best Halloween email marketing, Black Friday email marketing, and Christmas email marketing examples from top brands to build your own campaigns.

2. Social Media Costume Contests and Giveaways

User-generated content (UGC) is viral gold during Halloween marketing. You can host a costume contest on Instagram or TikTok. Invite fans to post photos or Reels of themselves in a Halloween costume using your branded hashtag and offer a prize (such as a gift card or merchandise bundle) to the winners. 

UGC contests amplify reach. Friends share entries, and new audiences discover your brand. To tap social buzz, it’s best to align with trending platforms. NRF notes that younger shoppers are increasingly looking to TikTok and Instagram for Halloween inspiration, so consider running short-form video challenges (like “copy this costume DIY” or filter-tagged makeup tutorials). 

Here’s an example of Solano Baking Company promoting its costume contest on Instagram: 

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3. Halloween Discounts and Flash Sales

Leverage FOMO with limited-time offers and spooky sale names. For example, health & beauty retailer, LookFantastic’s holiday campaigns included “extra gifts with purchase” and buy-one-get-one deals. 

Flash sales do best when combined with timely alerts. It’s advisable to use push notifications and in-app messages to announce a sudden deal. For example, “👻 Boo! 4 hours only: 30% off all scarves!”. When you need to reach out to multiple customers within a limited timeframe, push notification automation helps, ensuring you reach people’s notification panels immediately with contextual messaging for the sale. 

It’s best to plan a series of Halloween flash promotions and blast them via email, push, and SMS to drive short-lived spikes in orders. Here’s an example of how CleverTap automates such notifications on different channels: 

4. Spooky Website and App Makeovers

Give your digital storefront a Halloween spin. Swap in seasonal graphics with pumpkins, bats, cobweb borders, and a themed hero banner while your Halloween marketing campaigns are running. Even a temporary logo tweak, such as adding a witch hat to the logo, adds festive charm. 

For a more interactive experience, consider adding a pop-up game or quiz on-site. For example, a “Spin the Cauldron” wheel that offers instant coupon codes can gamify visits while collecting emails for each spin.

CleverTap’s in-app message editor allows you to create spooky-themed overlays or popups. On mobile apps, trigger a full-screen Halloween animation when users open the app on October 31.

Use playful copy such as “Enter if you dare… 20% off ends at midnight!” to reinforce the theme. 

5. Personalized Push Notifications for Halloween Marketing

Halloween-themed push messages should be concise, punchy, and timely. 

Examples: 

• “Don’t let these deals disappear 🕛 — 2 hours left to claim your treat!”
• “Your cart’s haunted… agh! Save 15% now!”

Use CleverTap’s behavioral triggers to personalize: for instance, if a user viewed the children’s costume category recently, send a targeted push like “Little witches love this! 🧙‍♀️ Kids’ costumes now 20% off.” 

For instance, trigger a push when a browsing user lingers on a Halloween product for 30 seconds. This is Level 4 personalization on CleverTap’s personalization schema.

You can also orchestrate a drip of reminders, such as a series of push notifications counting down to October 31 with diminishing offers, all tailored to the user’s past behavior. However, be sure to always include a clear call-to-action, such as “Shop now” or “Unlock deal,” and consider adding an emoji ghost or pumpkin for added flair.

6. Bundle Offers with a Halloween Twist

Create themed product bundles or “combos” that seem fun and useful together. For example, bundle a battery-powered pumpkin kit with matching string lights as the “Spooky Decor Bundle”, or pair a kids’ costume with a matching mask and candy bag as the “Trick-or-Treat Combo.” 

Give the bundle a catchy name (e.g., “Witchy Bundle,” “Ghostly Gear Pack”) and price it slightly below the sum of its parts to make it feel like a deal. Promote these via email, social, and SMS as limited-edition Halloween kits. 

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In messaging, emphasize the ease: “Everything you need for a fright night in one click!”

7. Geo-Targeted Mobile Promotions

Leverage location data to send hyper-local Halloween deals. 

For brick-and-mortar retailers, set up geofences around stores or event areas like haunted houses or malls. When customers enter these zones, push a Halloween coupon with a notification such as, “Welcome trick-or-treaters! Show this code for 15% off in-store.” 

Even if you’re purely online, use geo-specific messaging or time-limited SMS deals for neighborhoods with trick-or-treat events. This messaging drives foot traffic.

CleverTap supports such location-based campaigns to show in-app pop-ups with “near me” context. You can automate these triggers while using geo-trargeting that works for weather also. For example, “It’s chilly out! Stay in with our Halloween loungewear bundle – 20% off now.”

8. Themed Loyalty Rewards or Referral Campaigns

Give your loyalty program a Halloween flair. Offer bonus points for Halloween activities, or a special tier named “Ghoul VIP” for top spenders. You can also run referral drives with referral emails and reward buyers with spooky rewards, for example, a stamp card that progresses from “Ghost” to “Ghoul”.

This playful gamification encourages repeat visits. Highlight these offers in your app or email whenever it’s relevant. The combination of a fun theme and tangible perks will increase program engagement during the season.

In general, loyalty incentives help offset trade-down behavior noted in holiday surveys, while strengthening brand affinity.

9. Influencer Collaborations for Halloween Marketing

Partner with micro-influencers and content creators for quick-hitting campaigns. For example, send Halloween-themed PR boxes (including costumes, candy, and decor) to influencers in your niche and have them create videos or costume tutorials. 

Here’s an example of an influencer featuring Kylie Cosmetics in a Halloween-themed makeup video:

Source

Fashion or beauty brands can sponsor short Instagram Reels or TikTok videos of Halloween makeup transformations. It would be great for non-beauty brands to  tap parent bloggers to post kids in costumes. 

Make sure to encourage influencers to use your campaign hashtag and tag your account. Since Gen Z trusts peer-style content, influencer demos drive product awareness and authenticity. 

10. Scare-of-the-Day Countdown Campaign

Build anticipation with a multi-day countdown to Halloween. 

For instance, run a “13 Days of Tricks and Treats” campaign from October 18 to 31, revealing a different deal each day. You can automate these with drip emails and daily push notifications. 

It’s advisable to use graphics of a calendar or a ticking clock in your messages to visually reinforce the countdown. CleverTap’s journey builder proves to be valuable in scheduling daily offers and follow-ups. It allows you to ensure no day is missed and the messaging stays fresh.

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11. In-Store Halloween Marketing Experiences

Bring Halloween to life offline. 

Host in-store events, such as a pumpkin-carving party, Halloween costumed staff days, or trick-or-treat stands. Set up Instagram-worthy photo booths with branded props, for example, a giant branded cauldron or “Knight with a pumpkin sword” to encourage social shares. 

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Combine these in-person events with digital offers for Halloween marketing. For example, hand out QR codes that link to exclusive coupons on your app or website. For example, a customer might enter the store to find a QR code giving them “20% off your next online order” after participating in a store contest. Make sure to promote these events via your app and SMS. 

12. Themed Content Marketing and Blog Series

Run a short Halloween-themed content campaign on your blog and social channels. Ideas include “Haunted How-Tos,” spooky recipes, or a countdown of horror movies with product tie-ins. 

Optimize these pieces for SEO to attract organic search traffic in September and October. Pair it with a social media promotion. For example, a home goods retailer could publish “10 Creepy Candles to set the mood” with links to products. 

Such content positions your brand as helpful (not just selling) and keeps your audience engaged even if they aren’t ready to buy yet. 

At the end of each piece, include a soft CTA like “Shop our Halloween collection” to nudge readers into the funnel.

Speaking of themes, build the best Independence Day campaigns with our new and updated 4th of July marketing ideas and 4th of July email marketing examples. Start early to see impact!

13. Abandoned Cart Re-engagement with a Halloween Twist

Capitalize on spooky copy to recover abandoned carts. According to CleverTap’s personalization guidelines, triggered follow-ups based on customer behavior are highly effective. 

Personalize these messages and add a limited-time sweetener. You can layer channels: first, a push notification one hour after abandonment, then an email that evening, and maybe an SMS the next day. The fear-of-missing-out motif works well here. 

For instance, a quick reminder like “Hurry, Halloween is near – your costume won’t wait forever!” with an expiry date (“Offer ends in 6 hours!”) spurs completion. CleverTap’s workflows make it easy to set up these multi-touch abandonment sequences without manual intervention.

Learn how to write the best abandoned cart email subject lines to improve cart recovery.

14. Haunted Wishlist Alerts for Halloween Marketing

Haunted wishlist alerts work best when users can “heart” or “bookmark” Halloween products, such as costumes, décor kits, candy bundles, or even spooky-themed homeware. Once saved, their actions help personalize marketing.

Whenever a saved item goes on sale, trigger an automated push notification or email message. For example, “Your vampire cape just dropped 20% in price. Grab it before it flies away!”

Similarly, you can send reminders for low stock or back-in-stock items. These alerts feel personalized and timely. CleverTap’s event tracking and user property segmentation allow you to automate this entirely. 

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15. Interactive Halloween Marketing Story Campaign

An interactive story idea works well across push notifications, SMS, in-app, and even email. It breaks the monotony of typical promotions and gives users a reason to come back daily.

Here’s how you can make it work:

• Set up a storyline: Run a “13 Days of Clues” Halloween mystery. Each message reveals a new riddle or visual puzzle.
• Trigger progression: Use CleverTap to track clicks, in-app quiz completions, or time spent on each clue. Only send the next clue to users who engage with the previous one.
• Offer tiered rewards: Give tiered discounts or benefits in the form of a percentage off, free shipping, or additional freebies.
• Gamify it further: Add a leaderboard or countdown timer for competitive players. Segment top players for exclusive final-day prizes.

It encourages daily engagement, a challenge many holiday campaigns struggle with. 

Tips to Plan a Winning Halloween Marketing Campaign

The above ideas are practical when implemented as part of a Halloween marketing plan and strategically marketed for the holiday season. 

• Start Early: Begin teasing promotions weeks ahead. Run pre-Halloween campaigns (like a “Back-to-Halloween” flash sale in September) to capture early birds.
• A/B Test Messaging and Creative: Experiment with different themes, emojis, colors, and tone. For example, test email subjects like “Spooktacular Sale!” vs “Frightfully Good Deals!”. Run A/B tests on message variations to see what resonates. Always remember to not overdo it by limiting the number of push notifications to three per day.
• Segment Audiences: Don’t send one-size-fits-all blasts. Divide your audience and tailor offers. Use CleverTap’s segmentation feature to allow targeting by past behavior or demographics. 
• Monitor in Real Time: Utilize analytics dashboards to track campaign performance and identify which channels drive the most conversions, allowing for dynamic reallocation of budget and effort. 

Incorporating CleverTap into Your Halloween Marketing Strategy

CleverTap’s platform is built for precisely this kind of omnichannel, data-driven holiday marketing. Its segmentation engine lets you carve your customers into precise audiences so that your Halloween email, SMS, and push deals land with the right people. 

The journey builder and automation make it easy to orchestrate drip campaigns and triggers. Moreover, the personalization features support multi-level targeting, ranging from broad demographic blasts to one-to-one, real-time triggers.

The platform’s real-time analytics provide marketers with live feedback on which promotion or creative is driving the most engagement, allowing you to optimize on the fly.

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Overall, CleverTap lets you create a data-powered, spooky-season campaign that maximizes conversions and delights customers with just the right treat; no tricks needed. 

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