ASU Now
Between the costumes, decorations and props, temporary Halloween stores — like Spirit Halloween — provide a one-stop shopping experience for all things spooky. The stores open in malls and open-air shopping centers with scant warning, and are seemingly gone before the ink is even dry on the lease.
To learn more about how Halloween pop-up stores operate, ASU Now spoke with Mathew Avrhami, faculty associate in Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business.
QUESTION: Every year a couple months before Halloween, Spirit Halloween (and other temporary Halloween retailers), suddenly appear around town. How do these businesses work?
ANSWER: Halloween pop-up stores are most widely associated with Spirit, who is the largest seasonal retailer —selling trick or treats during the fall season and closing up during the first week of November. These businesses sell seasonal items in otherwise empty spaces, and there’s no shortage of empty retail space.
