The Nightmare Before (Spirit) Christmas: Social Media Reacts to Spirit Halloween Stores Transitioning to Christmas in 2024

*Memes and and Innovative Partnerships Also Keep the Brand Leading the Halloween Discussion on Social Media*

MONTCLAIR, N.J.– On Halloween Eve, researchers from the Joetta Di Bella and Fred C. Sautter III Center for Strategic Communication in the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University released a study examining how social media has reacted to one of the most meme-friendly brands in recent history, Spirit Halloween.

Since 1983, the popular retailer has utilized traditional mall space and failed commercial buildings to create temporary pop-up stores to sell Halloween costumes and decorations. In recent years, Spirit Halloween costumes appear as popular memes on social media, driving additional and awareness and engagement surrounding the brand. 

Google Trends and the Brandwatch platform were used to analyze more than 61,000 social media posts on X, Instagram and YouTube from October 1-October 28. Highlights include:

• This year, the volume of posts peaked on October 8, with almost 10,000 mentions coinciding with Spirit Halloween’s announcement of its new Spirit Christmas Stores. This led to a 100% increase in mentions of the brand during the studied time period.
• Search activity for Spirit Halloween is 40% lower than the brand’s high point in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the brand still clearly leads Google searches surrounding Halloween costumes since October 2022.
• Since October 2022, Spirit Halloween searches have overtaken Party City as the preferred Halloween store by by more than 30%.
• In addition to opening a record number of Spirit Halloween locations in 2024, the announcement of the addition of new Christmas themed stores attracted much attention on social media. With only 10 stores to be launched primarily in the U.S. northeast region, discussion of anticipated seasonal décor as well as photos and meet-and-greets with Spirit Christmas’s very own Santa Clause filled social media conversations.
• Tongue and cheek, “Fear” was a dominant sentiment in the posts related to the brand, along with the more understandable “Joy” feeling related to the the Spirit Christmas transition.
• Spirit Halloween’s new collaborations with popular brands like Chipotle, Uber Eats, Warner Bros., and Anne and Cinnamon to create unique costume lines, such as BEETLEJUICE, Deadpool, and meme-inspired outfits, offering fans fun options to embody their favorite personalities during the festive season. 
• Social Media discussion also surged after the brand was mocked on Saturday Night Live’s season premiere on Sept. 28, with the brand humorously responding on “X” with a meme of its own brand poking fun at the long running show.

The study was conducted by faculty Dr. Jin-A Choi, Dr. Yi Luo and Dr. Bond Benton It is the 21st study released from the School’s Joetta Di Bella and Fred C. Sautter III Center for Strategic Communication, which provides social media analytics tools and training for faculty and students for classroom learning and research projects.

“Trending memes on social media continue to keep Spirit Halloween relevant this Halloween season” said Dr. Choi, Director of Data Analytics for the Joetta Di Bella and Fred C. Sautter III Center for Strategic Communication and an Assistant Professor of Advertising. “With its expansion to Spirit Christmas, the seasonal pop-up store will now also attempt to capture America’s most expensive and favorite holiday, Christmas.”

“Spirit Halloween’s innovative brand collaborations with popular brands such as Chipotle, provide a fresh take on Halloween attire, bringing a blend of fast food culture and spooky fun to costume enthusiasts,” said Dr. Luo, Associate Professor of Strategic Communication.

“Spirit remains a cultural touchstone for our country, yet its placement in terms of cultural relevance is clearly evolving,” said Dr. Bond Benton, Professor of Communication.

The full study is here.

Media Contact: Keith Green, greenk@montclair.edu or 973-655-3701