Spooks and Sales: The Perks and Perils of the festive period in Coventry
The Halloween season brings a unique blend of opportunities and challenges for local businesses in Coventry. As autumn leaves the spooky season begins as people in Coventry and Uk alike spread country wide as the halloween spirit comsumed the nation. With over £776 million predicted to have been spent this year on festivites,the cost of living crisis has not affected the need for people to celebrate with drinking and dressing up. Coventry a city in a state of redevoplment, with investment since the City of Culture in 2021, business in this busy time surely is booming for shops in the centre?
Seasonal merchandise, often creatively crafted or sourced, not only attracts customers but can also increase visibility for small businesses, enhancing brand recognition and trying to bring in customer bases where there wouldn’t usually be. Jokers is a family run costume shop located just on the outskirts of Coventry city centre. Throghout the year only opening four times a week and on limited hours, this time of year brings a positive change for this business “This time of year is obviously great for us, as you can see. We have had a revolving door of people from last week and it will cotinue through the week. If you came here Thursday on the actual day of halloween or Friday then it will be a full shop the whole time.” As I spoke to the jubilant yet busy Elaine I could see first hand the effect this time has on this small business.
A drastically different experience for the beginning of the festive period came just less than a mile up the road, as Mo at Avi’s Food&Wine and wine told me “I am glad to see the end of the parties and drinking, this is why the Burgess close early from now on… it’s not safe always around here many homeless, drunk and not many police around the area either. Twice this year already we have window smashed and all weekend people come in and trash and make mess.”
Image showing Burgess in Coventry
This interview took place after a busy Halloween weekend for all business sectors, and it was clear to see that not only this but other businesses even the McDonalds, that has closed early ever since 2021 and has constant security working, that in this busy time of year the pressures are amounting to be too much. Just observing the busy street at midday there was hecticness as the lunchtime rush passed, I cast my mind to my time out in Coventry with some friends on Friday 1st where I was only in the town centre for a few hours. But disruption in all forms was rife, from drunken people roaming the streets to the mania inside of bars and clubs and then crops of homeless people dotted around the city. This was meant to be the beginning of the festive period yet all around there was crime and disorder with not many police or supporting workers insight.
This crime not disimilar to the trend within the whole of the uk as statistics show that crime levels across the nation tend to spike in the summer and autumn months and anti-social behaviour associated with Halloween, in particular, has become a major issue in many communities. In fact, an analysis of UK crime statistics, conducted by the company, shows that over the last decade, the level of crime reported during the month of October sits some 4.5% above the average monthly level reported throughout the rest of the year. Over these 10 years, an average of 125,460 cases of anti-social behaviour alone have been reported during the month October and so it’s no surprise that a survey of over-50s, commissioned by Regency Living , found that 85% feel more anxious than usual during the Halloween period. 35% of respondents said they live alone which can make Halloween a particularly daunting time of year and just over one in 10 choose not to spend Halloween at home at all. When asked what makes Halloween a more worrying time of year, the top answer was the number of strangers knocking on their door whilst trick or treating, whilst falling victim to anti-social behaviour such as egging ranked second, followed by the increased likelihood of witnessing anti-social behaviour whilst out and about.
All of us who will be going out over these next few weeks, we must all be aware of how others feel around these times. Whether it be how consumers act when in restaurants or other retail establishments or just going about day to day, the impact on how we act can have lasting implications on business or people. And with bonfire night coming up being safe and being mindful of others should be at the top of your mind.