When
your customers are happy, Restaurateurs are happy. According to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA
based Foodservice Solutions® decorating your restaurants, empowering your
employees to dress for Halloween, and inviting guest with a sweet delight as a
treat is a sure way to drive top-line sales and bottom-line profits.
Once
again there are just released insights by Lightspeed Commerce that edify just how you can win with customers leveraging Halloween. released new data* showing that last year’s Monday
night Halloween gave a big boost to bar and takeout sales. The numbers, which
are based on a sample of thousands of restaurants and bars powered by
Lightspeed across North America, suggest a busy Halloween Tuesday may be on the
horizon this year.
Powering the world’s best
businesses, Lightspeed is the unified POS and payments platform for ambitious
entrepreneurs to accelerate growth, provide the best customer experiences and
become a go-to destination in their space.
Here are some key findings:
·
La-La Land loves
Halloween. Bars in Los Angeles were
busy on Halloween night. They saw a 107% increase in sales compared to the
previous Monday. Jacksonville came in second with a 65% jump from one week to
the next. Brooklyn closes out the top three with a 46% bump.
o
Coming in at the other end
of the spectrum were Columbus, Key West and Minneapolis, where bars saw the
sharpest decline in sales. Lightspeed data shows a 46% drop in Columbus and Key
West, while Minneapolis saw a 49% slump in bar tabs.
·
When Halloween is on
a weekday, takeout orders surge. On
Halloween, restaurants across all categories—fast casual, casual, upscale or
fine dining—saw an 11.37% increase in takeout sales compared to the previous
Monday. As October 31 lands on a Tuesday this year, restaurants can plan
ahead to make the most of this takeout bump.
·
Shots and mixed
drinks are the “boos” of choice. In bars across North America, spirit sales grew by 68% on
Halloween night 2022 compared to the prior week. Cocktail sales saw a 34% top
up, whereas wine sales decreased by 17%. While bars that plan to stay
open on Halloween night can stay ahead of the curve by stocking up on the hard
stuff, it appears many consumers still fear spilling wine on their costume.
·
Across the United
States, pumpkin still reigns supreme in the spooky season. It’s especially beloved in the Northeast, where sales
of pumpkin related items grew by 3,164% in October compared to July. In the
South, sales of pumpkin goods surged by 2,824% compared to a 1,737% hike in the
Midwest and a 1,216% increase on the West Coast.
·
In a particularly pronounced case of pumpkin appreciation,
Portland, Maine saw a whopping 46,275% increase in sales of pumpkin related
items in October compared to July.
The data likely comes as
no surprise to bars and fast casual restaurants, who are prepping for a
Halloween spike with events, promotions and increased staff. “We are ready for
it,” says Rohit Sharma, General Manager and Operations Partner at Bar 404, a
speakeasy in downtown Toronto. “There will be a lot of guests coming at the
same time, [and we] want to make sure we have more hosts to accommodate
[everyone].” Sharma also encourages employees to get in on the fun, creating
seasonal cocktails and wearing costumes to work.
Speaking
to the uptick in business on Halloween night, Peter Dougherty, General Manager
of Hospitality at Lightspeed Commerce, acknowledged that it’s always been a
popular holiday for bar-goers. "If last year’s numbers are any indication,
restaurant and bar managers who are open for business on Tuesday nights should
make sure they’re properly staffed on October 31. What's especially interesting
for bars is how much of the ticket increase is driven by spirits and cocktails,
with beer sales only rising slightly, when we've seen off-premise sales
primarily driven by beer." Overall Dougherty sees the data as an
opportunity for hospitality businesses. “With Halloween and the return of
pumpkin season, our customers can really flex their creativity. We’re seeing
some amazing menu items,” he notes. “I’m not just talking about baked goods.
We’re seeing pumpkin horchata, pumpkin espresso martinis and a huge amount of
complex, spiced beers—it’s incredible.”
Lightspeed’s Advanced
Insights can help bars and restaurants anticipate busy nights. It identifies
the most profitable hours and best-selling menu items so managers can optimize
scheduling and menu planning.
Lightspeed powers the
world’s best bars, including: Death & Co (Los Angeles), Mace (New York),
Katana Kitten (New York), Service Bar (Washington, DC), Recess (Chicago),
Collective Arts (Hamilton), Vin Mon Lapin (Montreal), Cloakroom (Montreal),
David Rocco Bar Aperitivo (Toronto), Cubitt House (London), Maybe Sammy
(Sydney), Sunshine Brewery (Gisborne) and In den Ouden Vogelstruys
(Maastricht).
Dive into the
transformative features of Lightspeed Restaurant on our website, or to witness
its powerful capabilities, see lightspeedhq.com/pos/restaurant.
*Methodology
Lightspeed analyzed internal data from thousands of hospitality businesses powered by Lightspeed Restaurant across North America. The analysis reviewed check size and other data points across cohorts of bars, casual, fine dining, upscale and fast casual hospitality businesses. In particular, Lightspeed focused on various sales changes from one Monday to the next when looking at Halloween itself. In addition, when analyzing pumpkin trends, Lightspeed compared data from July 1, 2022 to October 31, 2022.
Want more Halloween specifics Call or Click lightspeedhq.com.
Foodservice Solutions®
specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify,
quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu
product segment and brand and menu integration strategy. Foodservice Solutions®
of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit us on our social
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