While Halloween traditionally focuses on candy and costumes, outdoor displays are gaining an outsized presence in licensing. That’s true both figuratively and literally as a growing number of homeowners forgo the do-it-yourself route in favor of bigger, more elaborate displays that often incorporate licensed items.

Larger-than-life animatronic figures, for example, can carry retail prices of $200 or more and stand as tall as 12 feet. And on the inflatable displays side, many literally stand out from the crowd.

An inflatable Michael Myers figure from the Halloween franchise, for example, is available in 8-foot, 15-foot, and 25-foot sizes. Gemmy Industries has a 12-by-12 Multisensory Hogwarts Archway Tunnel that is a Sam’s Club exclusive, and Walmart launched an 8-by-6 inflatable that features Line Friends characters and was jointly developed by Liner Corp and members of the Korean boy band BTS.

The growing focus on these animatronic and inflatable displays was well-documented at retail. DIY chains like Home Depot and Lowe’s gave them prime placement in stores, while Spirit Halloween’s 1,500 pop-up locations also had an ample supply. Spirit offered direct-to-retail deals for many of these displays, while Lowe’s had an exclusive for Gemmy’s 5.5-foot Disney The Haunted Mansion Hitchhiking Ghosts. Target also embraced the category across both private label and licensed brands.

Retailers’ appetite for these oversized offerings hasn’t gone unnoticed by suppliers. The licensed category is, in large part, dominated by Gemmy but several other suppliers Licensing International spoke with are seriously considering entering the business.

“Many of us are already doing inflatables and this is a category that is similar,” said an executive. “We will probably try it and see what works. Either we will start to get some licenses and expand the business or there won’t be any market and we will back out.”

The question that remains, however, is whether this growing interest in Halloween décor is a short-term trend or one that will take permanent hold. Halloween is, after all, a seasonal business. And there is also a risk that consumers will hit their limit in buying what—in many cases—are more expensive products.

“The studios have done a good job of amplifying their horror businesses and it’s no longer just a fourth-quarter business,” said Julian Montoya, SVP at The Noble Collection and former Warner Bros. licensing executive. “People are just celebrating Halloween more overtly now and while the displays can be expensive, you are going to use them for years. It’s not a one-time [use product]. It’s  just a question of how long the growth in this business of outdoor displays can be sustained.”

Overall, U.S. Halloween sales were expected to increase to $12.2 billion in 2023, up 15% from $10.6 billion a year ago, according to the National Retail Federation. But some of the increase is likely tied to higher commodity and materials costs. Candy sales were forecast to rise 16.1% to $3.6 billion. But in a candy category where licensing plays a larger role—novelty tins—dollar sales were expected to be down about 10% due to a slowdown in store traffic, industry executives said.

“Novelty tends to be more greatly impacted by store traffic since the purchase of this kind of product is usually an impulse buy,” said Matthew Kavet, CEO of candy tin supplier Boston America. “Commodity-driven candy purchases will be less affected by store traffic.”

Despite the growing demand for lawn displays, that slower store traffic has ultimately led some industry executives to reduce their sales expectations for this year, especially coming off strong sales in 2022.

“Costume sales are down,” said a licensing executive. “Sell-in to retail was down and sell-through to consumers wasn’t as strong, except for online. But this is a last-minute business and while everyone bought early in the days after the pandemic, now it is back to normal. Ten days before Halloween you see a shift and we expect the numbers to catch up.”