Trick, treat, repeat: How businesses turn Halloween shoppers into loyal customers

The growth is not limited to the US. In the UK, IGD reports that 36 percent of shoppers planned to celebrate Halloween in 2026, up from 27 percent the year before, with participation rising fastest among 18 to 24 year olds and the share planning to attend a party or event climbing from 25 percent to 32 percent.

And shoppers everywhere are not waiting until the last week of October to get started. Nearly half of them began shopping in September or earlier, which means the window to capture attention now stretches across two full months rather than a handful of days before the 31st.

That combination, a bigger budget and a longer shopping season, makes Halloween one of the most underused moments on the retail calendar for customer acquisition and loyalty. Costumes, candy, and decorations give a brand a reason to be playful, and playful campaigns are exactly the kind that get people to sign up for a loyalty program, download an app, or come back for a second purchase. 

The businesses getting the most value out of Halloween are not just running a discount. They are using the occasion to turn first-time buyers into loyalty members and give existing members a reason to engage more.

Wendy's sells a Boo! Book for one dollar that includes five free Jr. Frosty coupons and a discounted kids meal offer, with 90 cents of every purchase going to a children's charity. 

On top of that, the brand sells limited-edition Halloween Frosty Kids' Meals featuring six collectible characters, and holds back one additional character exclusively for members of Wendy's Rewards. The low price point makes the offer an easy yes, the collectible set brings people back multiple times, and the loyalty-exclusive character gives shoppers a real reason to join the program rather than just buy once.

Instead of running a blanket sitewide sale, Sephora built its Halloween season around curated looks like a glam skeleton or a vampire, pointing shoppers toward specific product bundles while reminding them that every purchase earns points in the Beauty Insider program. 

The brand also uses the occasion to bring people into its stores for custom Halloween makeup application, turning a seasonal look into an in-person moment that deepens the relationship well beyond a single online purchase.

Target leans into inclusive, wide-reaching Halloween merchandising to make the holiday feel welcoming to as many shoppers as possible, then uses member-only early access and personalized costume recommendations to convert that broad interest into loyalty sign-ups. 

It is a reminder that a loyalty perk does not need to be complicated to work. Early access alone is often enough of an incentive to get someone to join.

On Halloween last year, Chronic Tacos sent every loyalty member a free Churros and Caramel Dip offer directly through its app, redeemable in-store or online with no strings attached. There is no minimum spend and no trick behind it, just a straightforward thank-you to loyalty members that costs the brand very little but reinforces exactly why it pays to be signed up.

Last year, Chuck E. Cheese brought back its Boo-tacular Halloween celebration, running from September 29 through November 2 across more than 460 locations. The campaign combined daily costume rewards, nightly Halloween entertainment, seasonal food and exclusive perks for members and Fun Pass holders. Kids arriving in costume received 500 free E-tickets, while members and pass holders unlocked additional Halloween-day perks alongside benefits such as game-play points and food and beverage discounts.

Rather than treating Halloween as a single promotional moment, Chuck E. Cheese used it to give families multiple reasons to visit, play and engage throughout the season. The combination of rewards, limited-time experiences and member-only benefits turns a familiar holiday into an opportunity to drive repeat engagement and reinforce the value of joining the loyalty program.

Beyond the five examples above, there are plenty of ways to bring a promotions and rewards mindset into your own Halloween campaign.

Build a collect-and-complete series. Offer a set of six to twelve digital badges, recipes, characters, or small products, and hold back one exclusive item for loyalty members only. This gives customers a reason to keep coming back rather than making a single purchase and moving on, following the same logic that makes Wendy's collectible meals work so well.

Send customers on trick-or-treat missions. Give shoppers a short list of simple actions, such as buying a seasonal product, scanning an in-store QR code, sharing a costume photo, or completing a Halloween quiz, and reward each completed action with points or a small prize. Breaking one campaign into several small tasks multiplies the number of touchpoints you get with each customer.

Let customers choose their own scare. Offer a simple choice, such as Trick, Treat, Mystery, or VIP, and reveal a different reward or product recommendation depending on what they pick. It is a lightweight way to gamify the experience while also learning something about each customer's preferences directly from them.

Turn existing customer behavior into a UGC challenge. Halloween already gives customers plenty of reasons to create and share content, from costumes and makeup to decorations and product-inspired looks. Build on behavior that already feels natural to your audience, then add a seasonal hashtag, a simple participation mechanic, and a reward worth sharing for.

Bring the surprise into physical stores. Retailers use scan-to-play games or receipt-based prizes to turn a routine shopping trip into something worth talking about. Halloween is one of the few times of year shoppers actively expect to be surprised, so use that expectation to make the in-store experience part of the campaign.

Halloween will keep growing as a retail moment, and the brands that benefit most will not be the ones offering the deepest discount. They will be the ones giving customers something to collect, unlock, share, or discover, and using that experience to bring new members into their loyalty program while giving existing ones a genuine reason to come back.