ASK THE EXPERT: How can convenience operators use retail media to drive sales during the spooky season?
Halloween isn’t just about costumes and candy; it’s a major retail moment when consumers are primed to spend. Canadian parents shelled out more than $120 per household last year on candy, décor and costumes, with 72% planning to spend the same or more this year. This represents a golden opportunity for convenience operators to capture seasonal shoppers, drive impulse purchases and build long-term customer relationships.
Capture impulse shoppers with timely messaging
Halloween shoppers are often driven by impulse—grabbing candy, snacks or decorations on a whim. Retail media allows convenience operators to meet these buyers in the moment through dynamic in-store displays, digital out-of-home (DOOH) ads and mobile app notifications.
By promoting Halloween-themed snacks, beverages and treats on digital screens in and near store locations, such as gas stations or transit hubs, operators can reach consumers exactly when they’re most receptive. Time-of-day and day-of-week targeting further help drive timely foot traffic and capture those last-minute candy runs.
Halloween is a peak moment for convenience stores, and retail media makes it easier to turn seasonal traffic into real sales. By reaching shoppers with relevant messaging, creating seamless omni-channel experiences and acting on data-driven insights, operators can capture more purchases and build stronger connections.
Create a seamless omni-channel experience
Today’s consumers move fluidly between online, mobile and in-store shopping, and that behaviour intensifies around holidays like Halloween. Retail media bridges these moments by unifying digital and physical touchpoints into one cohesive shopper journey.
Operators can leverage location-based retargeting to reach users who’ve seen a Halloween DOOH ad with follow-up promotions, coupons or limited-time offers on mobile. Linking those mobile ads to store locators or in-app deals helps turn awareness into action. This cross-channel strategy creates urgency and makes it simple for shoppers to act on impulse, like grabbing a family-size candy bag or stocking up on accessories for Halloween events.
Bring your promotions to life with contextual creative and real-time triggers
For convenience retailers, creative is everything—it’s what turns a quick pit stop into a brand moment that sticks. Halloween is the perfect time to lean into contextual and seasonal creative that speaks directly to shoppers’ moods and mindsets.
By using DOOH to showcase eye-catching visuals, like glowing jack-o’-lanterns or playful ghosts, retailers can instantly tap into the festive spirit. As Halloween draws closer, brands can leverage real-time creative to build urgency and excitement, updating messaging to reflect the countdown to October 31 or showcase regional promotions. This flexibility allows operators to pivot creative assets in the final days leading up to the holiday, when shoppers are most likely to make last-minute candy and décor purchases.
Seasonal moments like Halloween are when DOOH truly shines for convenience, delivering fun and relevant messages right where decisions happen. Combined with smart data and targeting, it ensures brands appear in the right place at the right time, driving traffic, impulse purchases and stronger recall.
Turn shopper data into actionable insights
Retail media provides operators with real-time insights into shopper behaviour, from which products are trending to when purchases peak. During Halloween, these insights allow stores to stock best-sellers, feature top-performing products in digital and in-store campaigns and adjust offers on the fly.
At Vistar Media, we’ve helped a myriad of retailers measure lifts in foot traffic and sales resulting from DOOH and mobile campaigns. One operator saw a 125% lift in foot traffic by activating ads during the times and places that matched their shoppers’ routines, proving that data-led optimization can drive real-world results.
Build loyalty that lasts beyond Halloween
The spooky season isn’t just a short-term opportunity; it’s a chance to change to create lasting customer relationships. By using retail media and first-party data, operators can identify high-value shoppers and re-engage them through post-Halloween promotions, loyalty programs and holiday offers. Staying connected after October 31 turns one-time buyers into repeat customers.
Making the most of spooky season
Halloween is a high-impact retail moment, and with the right retail media strategy, every pumpkin-spiced impulse can lead to long-term value. By combining timely messaging, omnichannel strategy and data-driven insights, convenience operators can elevate seasonal campaigns, increase in-store traffic and strengthen shopper relationships that last well beyond Halloween night.
Marissa Andrade is the vice-president of global marketing at Vistar Media, where she leads regional marketing teams worldwide to amplify brand impact, drive market-specific strategies, and deliver measurable outcomes aligned with business goals. Prior to Vistar, she worked in brand marketing at Forbes and sales marketing at Vox Media. Andrade holds a Bachelor of Science from the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida.