Why Michaels is leaning into DIY Halloween costumes
Michaels is boo-sting its Halloween assortment to appeal to those interested in making their own costumes to save money.
Compared to last year, the craft retailer brought in 23.5% more Halloween ribbon this year, including new spidery lace and bloody ribbon. Michaels also increased its number of fabric dyes and paint pens and upped its selection of foam and fiber for three-dimensional costumes. What’s more, Michaels lowered prices on items like T-shirts and expanded its number of blank hats and patches.
Michaels made these changes to give shoppers on a budget more options for costumes and decorations, Michaels’ svp and general merchandise manager Chuck Smith told Modern Retail. “As we were looking ahead to this season, we saw the economic uncertainty that’s pervasive throughout the country right now,” he said. “We thought to ourselves, ‘Okay, how is the customer going to be leaning into DIY this Halloween and holiday season and how can we help better serve them?'”
Earlier this year, Michaels surveyed 1,000 people who planned to celebrate Halloween, and more than half (53%) said they wanted to “DIY” their costumes. In addition, last year, 57% of Michaels Makers Circle members said they were likely to pick up items for DIY Halloween costumes and props. Michaels is thus updating its DIY assortment and prices so “anybody can come in and put together the look they’re looking for,” Smith said.
Brad Jashinsky, director analyst at Gartner, told Modern Retail that Michaels’ move aligns with general consumer habits. Gartner’s 2024 Consumer Omnibus Survey found that 74% of U.S. consumers were “very” or “extremely” concerned about increased costs of living. Consumer prices rose 2.4% in the 12 months ending in September, down from 2.5% in August and the slowest rise since February 2021. Still, food prices are up 28% since 2019, and goods and services continue to be a source of stress for many families.
Michaels’ origins go back to 1973 when founder Michael Dupey converted a Ben Franklin variety store in Texas into a craft store. The company went public a decade later but was taken private in 2006 when Bain Capital and Blackstone absorbed it for $6 billion. In 2014, Michaels went public again and raised $473 million in an IPO. It went back to being a private company in 2021 in a deal valued at $3.3 billion. Michaels is now owned by Apollo Global Management.
Michaels is getting the word out about its expanded Halloween DIY assortment via email and social media. On its website, it has nearly 60 ideas for outfits and accessories that kids and their families can make at home. These include robot, lion, zombie and pirate costumes. Michaels provides a shopping list of everything needed to make the costumes and gives step-by-step instructions. Customers can add all items to their cart with the click of a button.
In addition to its DIY costume materials, Michaels carries ready-made Halloween costumes and accessories, and it will continue to do so. It’s also making broader changes to how it celebrates Halloween. This year, Michaels launched the first of its Halloween decor collections, “Hippie Hallow,” earlier than ever, in late June. Sales of that “Summerween” collection — which includes a figurine of a skeleton taking a bubble bath — are up 310% compared to last year’s first drop, per the company.
The winter holidays are a major season for Michaels, but the company “love[s] Halloween,” Smith said. Michaels plans Halloween about a year in advance and analyzes trends from the year before when picking out new products. It’s started seeing greater demand for items in pastel colors like pink and lavender, as well as products that last year-round.
“The Halloween trend has kind of evolved beyond just spooky and scary,” Smith said. “There’s sweet, there’s happy, there’s unexpected, there’s bright. It’s kind of become a much broader holiday for us.”
The National Retail Federation expects Halloween spending to reach $11.6 billion in 2024. This is slightly down from last year’s figure of $12.2 billion but higher than 2022’s figure of $10.6 billion.