Kiwis think Halloween’s a scream

Kiwis think Halloween’s a scream

Cadbury and Countdown survey Kiwis about Halloween celebrations and what spooks us most

New Zealand – Friday 27 October 2017: Cadbury and Countdown have teamed up to reveal how Kiwis are celebrating Halloween, and our biggest fears. The survey of more than 1,000 participants shows Halloween is growing in popularity in New Zealand, with a whopping 61% percent* of Kiwis having celebrated the spooky holiday.

“We found that more than 35 per cent* of Kiwis said Halloween is all about trick-or-treating, and dressing up in scary costumes is a very close second,” said Cadbury New Zealand Country Manager, James Kane.

“We wanted to take a light-hearted look at Halloween’s scarier side, so together with Countdown we asked people to share some of the things that scare them most.

“Snakes, public speaking and parallel parking in front of an audience were Kiwis’ top three fears, followed by house prices, spiders and having their credit card declined*.”

Some of the funniest responses were from people who were a little disappointed with their Halloween fare. Vegetables like potatoes, carrots and peas made the worst trick-or treat gift list along with savoury items like tinned tuna and baked beans*. One extremely disappointed trick-or-treater received an uninflated balloon, and another found the unshelled walnuts they received hard to swallow*.

“We loved finding out more about how Kiwis celebrate Halloween, and we’re sure this year’s trick-or-treaters won’t be disappointed by what’s on offer with Cadbury ramping up the availability of products that are ideal for the annual celebration of everything spooky,” said Kane.

To back up the survey results, Countdown analysed its sales data and discovered that sales of Halloween merchandise last year increased more than 273 per cent** from Halloween 2015, and chocolate sales also jumped more than 14 per cent**.

“We can see that New Zealanders are really getting into the Halloween spirit,” said Countdown Acting General Manager Merchandise, Brett Ashley.

“We’ve found that Kiwi shoppers prefer to give away pre-wrapped confectionery like share packs to keep trick-or-treaters happy, but it’s not just sweet treats that people are buying. Pumpkin sales also shot up a third last year** which indicates that Kiwis are really getting into the celebrations and carving their own Jack O’ Lanterns and making pumpkin pie,” he added.

Most people are last-minute grabbers, with the two days before Halloween typically when Kiwis start thinking about preparations. By far the majority leave treat-shopping till the day itself.

“It’s really fantastic to see more Kiwis getting into the fun and putting their own unique spin on Halloween, whether they’re in it for the scares or the treats. We’re anticipating another big spooky season ahead,” said Ashley.

ENDS

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