Cover Story: Halloween Goes To College
By Mary Ford, Editor

Undergraduates rule! Retailers and suppliers say college students have become one of the largest and most influential segments of the Halloween market.

Behind the ivy-covered stone walls of America's college campuses live more than 17 million 18-24 year olds. These students have celebrated Halloween since they were toddlers and, despite the onset of adulthood, they are far from ready to give up the pleasures of the holiday. They have time on their hands, a desire to party, Mom or Dad's credit cards in their wallets and well-toned bodies that they're eager to dress up. Fraternities, sororities, campus clubs, college bars and individual students host parties for the holiday, and in the last week of October, undergraduates devote as much time and attention to their Halloween costumes as they do to calculus, biology and sociology.

College students' enthusiasm for the holiday has had a major impact on the Halloween business in recent years. Suppliers and retailers say that not only do students dress up for the holiday in huge numbers, they also spend more heavily per capita than other adults. Students have become one of the most profitable segments of the market. "It's huge," says Kevin Johnson, co-owner, Elope Inc., describing the growth of the college Halloween business. Wayne Copoloff, HMS Ltd., notes that although many college students are on tight budgets, they tend to splurge at Halloween. "They will spend more on a costume than the average mother will spend on a child," says Copoloff.

John Albritton is an expert in the Halloween habits of college students. He is the manager of Center Stage Costumes & Magic in Gainesville, Fla., which is also home to the fourth largest university in the country — the 46,000-student University of Florida. Albritton chronicles a number of key differences between students and the general population in terms of their celebration of the holiday. First, whereas working adults are more likely to hold a Halloween party if Halloween falls on a Friday or Saturday, it doesn't much matter to college students on which day the holiday falls. They can always find time to party, says Albritton. In addition, many students attend more than one Halloween event and purchase more than one costume. They also tend to buy more accessories and be more creative than other costume shoppers, reports Albritton.

Observers say that students' style preferences have impacted fashion trends in the Halloween market in recent years. Christopher Scharff, CEO of Dreamgirl International, notes that the popularity of sexy costumes is at least partly attributable to the growing influence of college students. Not surprisingly, it is 18-24 year old women who are most eager to wear figure-revealing costumes. "They have the bodies for them," says Scharff. Dreamgirl designer Amanda Wasvary notes that the current generation of young women is also more comfortable with their bodies than were previous generations.

"They like the sexy stuff," agrees Rocky Torrence, co-owner, Drop Me A Line Costumes, Allentown, Pa. Torrence, whose store serves students from Lehigh University, Muhlenberg College and Cederhurst College, also notes that college women tend to be exhaustive shoppers; they examine a wide variety of costumes before they settle on one. Male college students, on the other hand, are less choosy, says Torrence. "The guys will pick up anything."

He notes that college men and women both tend toward impulse shopping — but in different ways. The young women are likely to purchase additional accessories that will improve the look of their costumes. The men tend to be attracted to novelty items — even if these pieces have nothing to do with their costumes. "The goofier, the better," says Torrence, noting that teeth are a popular add-on purchase by male college students at his store.

Observers of the market note that college students tend to shop in groups and sometimes choose a theme together or coordinate their costumes in some way. Young women might be different types of witches or different characters from The Wizard of Oz; their male counterparts might dress up as 1960s hippies, police officers or characters from The Village People or Animal House.

Each fall, Johnson of Elope, Inc., works part-time at a Halloween retailer in order to stay in tune with the retail market. In 2007, he worked at The Buff, a costume retailer in San Diego, Calif. The store is near a cluster of colleges: University of California San Diego, the University of San Diego and San Diego State University. Students make up a large percentage of the store's customers and Johnson reports that "there was often a line out the door" in the days leading up to Halloween. "You wouldn't believe what kids will spend — all charged on credit cards," says Johnson, who attributes The Buff's success partly to the store's advantageous location and partly to its management and staff, which has made it into a hip Halloween hangout. Each fall, loud music ("the same music that will be at student Halloween parties"), a costumed sales staff, and self-perpetuating crowds of students transform The Buff into "the place to be" says Johnson, who recalls one students telling him: "I'm not buying anything. I just wanted to be here."

Johnson reports that looking attractive in their costumes is a priority for college-age Halloween celebrants of both sexes: the girls want to look sexy and the boys want to look macho. "They're single and they're trying to attract the opposite sex and they're doing it with their costumes." In the last few years, pirates offered macho appeal for boys and Johnson believes that adventurer looks — inspired by the upcoming Indiana Jones sequel — will be popular in 2008. Also popular: any character played by Johnny Depp. Young men, says Johnson, hope to transfer some of Depp's sex appeal to themselves.

Robert Berman, president, Rasta Imposta, reports that young men also use humor to attract girls. "They're hoping the guy with the funniest costume will get the best-looking girl," explains Berman. Popular sources of humor are sex, drinking and popular culture. Berman says that licenses with a kitschy, retro appeal do well in this market.

Monica Ladd, owner of Fantasy Attic Costumes in Ann Arbor, Mich., notes that younger college men find humor in animal costumes while the older students will go for more sophisticated ensembles.

Karen Yoo, manager of The Buff, notes that male college students in her area tend to like cross-dressing humor and that Disney characters are popular costume choices for college women.

For further information on companies mentioned within this article, please go to www.sellinghalloween.com and click on "TIA."

 

10 Tips to Boost Sales to the College Market

1. Don't be ordinary. Today's students are sophisticated and clever, and they want their costumes to be unique.
2. College students love music. Males, particularly, like music celebrity styles — from disco outfits from the 1970's to the rap-wear of 50 Cent. There should be music playing in your store — but make sure it's truly contemporary.
3. Liquor is an important part of the college lifestyle and a popular theme for costumes. Among Rasta Imposta's best-selling costumes for this market are Beer Man, Beer Girl and The Breathalyzer. Beer Pong, based on a popular drinking game, is among the company's 2008 introductions.
4. Carry lots of sexy costumes.
5. Carry costumes that are a little less sexy. Some college girls are a little bit more modest than their peers — really. Wasvary of Dreamgirl reports that her company is debuting more dresses with cut outs — a look that still sexy but not quite as risqu´ as the bra and skirt separates that have dominated the market for the past few years.
6. Don't forget plus-sized sexy costumes. Andi Wolos, product development, Fun World, notes that some women are both 18 in age and 18 in size, and they too want to look hip and attractive.
7. Stay open late. Johnson of Elope reports that the day before Halloween was “mayhem” at The Buff and that students were still shopping frantically for costumes at 10 pm on Halloween night.
8. Hire college students. They attract other college students, and they understand the market.
9. Advertise directly to students through student newspapers or other campus-based media. The Buff in San Diego, for example, advertises in a fraternity publication.
10. Customer service is important. Many students don't know what they want to be when they begin shopping. Knowledgeable, helpful staffers can make the decisionmaking itself a fun part of the holiday. //