Advent calendars counting down to Halloween have begun haunting UK gift shop shelves for the first time this autumn, according to new data from Faire.
The online wholesale marketplace says it’s the first time the already popular US product has officially crossed the Atlantic, as retailers turn to American traditions to capitalise on a rise in Halloween spending.
Charlotte Broadbent, UK general manager at Faire, commented: “Halloween is becoming a much more significant retail moment for British retailers. They’ve ordered 70% more decoration and fancy-dress products via Faire this year – even outpacing the growth we’re seeing in the US – and Halloween countdown calendars are leading the charge.
“We’ve seen a 150% jump in the number of UK retailers buying Halloween countdown calendars on Faire, and there are also nearly double the number of UK brands selling them on our platform – 16 brands in 2025 compared with nine in 2024.
“Retailers are increasingly turning to American Halloween products and traditions they can tap into, and countdown calendars work perfectly because, as with Christmas Advent calendars, they attract footfall and spending much earlier on in the season. They also suit shoppers who want to start building up to the big event and decorating their homes long before October 31.”
Something Different Wholesale is one of the gift companies supplying Halloween countdown calendars to independent retailers on Faire. Managing director Anthony David noted: “We launched our first Halloween Advent calendars last year after a colleague who is obsessed with Halloween had a trip to LA and came back with the idea of creating them. They sold through really quickly, so this year we more than doubled down our orders, brought them out earlier in the year, and introduced two new versions. We’ve been blown away by demand.
“We originally thought it could be a product for the US market, but sales in the UK have been really strong, and we’ve had lots of repeat orders from UK customers, which tells us they’re selling well in stores too. We’re now getting ready to confirm next year’s orders in even greater quantities and introduce more new designs.”
Libby Ewart, owner of online partyware and gift retailer The Box Party, bought Something Different Wholesale’s 13 Nights of Halloween Calendar. She said: “Halloween seems to get bigger every year. I’ve bought 40% more stock for 2025, and I had to place four orders of countdown calendars because they’ve proved so popular.”
“Countdown calendars are a little bit different to the other Halloween products out there. The one I’ve been selling has a different spell each day, along with gemstones and even a little witch’s broomstick, which appeals to children as well as adults who like this kind of thing. This year Halloween falls on a Friday, so the countdown is really good.”
Faire has also seen a 505% increase in sales of ‘wicked witches’-themed home décor items year-on-year, a 41% jump in tarot card sales compared with 2024, and nearly 28,000 sales of crystal-inspired lighting, up 78% from 2024. Searches for oracle decks in the UK have grown 72% year-on-year, and in the past three months alone, 2,000 UK retailers have searched for crystals.
Products such as affirmation decks, moon-phase mugs, and crystal soaps are now among the fastest-growing gifting categories being snapped up by retailers.
www.somethingdifferentwholesale.co.uk
