Spirit Halloween To Haunt More Retail Spaces Than Ever, Open 1,500 Stores This Season

Spirit Halloween Store is creeping into vacant big-box space left behind by retailers Bed Bath & Beyond, Kmart, Sears, Tuesday Morning and more.

The New Jersey-based company said it plans to pop up in 1,500 locations in advance of Halloween this year, up from the 1,450 stores it debuted in 2022, according to CoStar.

Spirit has historically negotiated temporary, three-month leases between 5K SF and 50K SF, a scenario that has proved beneficial for landlords looking for interim revenue while they locate a permanent tenant.

The agreements also tend to include a “kick-out clause,” which allows landlords to replace Spirit with a permanent tenant if a deal is secured by June.

"Since Spirit locations open on or about Sept. 1 and remain open through Nov. 1, our ideal lease would run from mid-July through mid-November," according to the company website. "We like to locate our stores in power centers, strip centers, free-standing stores, major downtown retail locations and in major malls surrounded by a national retailer mix."

The company’s flagship store held a grand opening event in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, during the last weekend of July. Nearly 3,000 people showed up to get first dibs on spooky season inventory and participate in special offerings such as tarot card readings, graveyard bowling, face painting and photo opportunities, CoStar reported.

Occasion-based pop-up stores generate excitement by tapping into the “fear-of-missing-out” mentality. Seasonal tenants require a much smaller investment than a permanent store, and companies have been known to pay one lump sum check for the entire three months they are there.

The National Retail Federation predicted a record $10.6B would be spent on Halloween last year, per CoStar. The category has grown year-over-year, driven by pop-ups concepts like Spirit as well as by permanent retailers, including Party City, Walmart and Target.