With Halloween looming (and falling within half term for many people), there is much excitement about trick or treating, Halloween parties and fancy dress costumes. As children get older, they seem to get much more gory. Last year we had the most terrifying 10 year old ‘zombie’ knocking on the door, accompanied by a frighteningly realistic Frankenstein! I much prefer the cute 5 year olds dressed as mini witches and ghosts made of sheets with eye holes cut out.
I was browsing a newsletter which had links to the pick of the best Halloween costumes so had a quick look. One inparticular caught my eye – a pair of black pyjamas with a glow in the dark skeleton. Great, they’d even be useful after Halloween! But unfortunately they only went up to an age 5 (starting from 6 months).
It occurred to me that not many parents would want to see their 6 month old baby in a skeleton outfit, and the baby would be totally oblivious. But an 8 year old boy would be a completely different story. They would have been perfect. Tellingly, the age 5s had all sold out, and the baby sizes are all available. I think this major high street retailer has missed a trick.
The Halloween craze is really for primary school kids. Babies? Not so much.
If they had made those pyjamas in ages 5 to 11, they would have sold out in all sizes I bet.
The moral of the story is: Think about who is going to use your product, and how/why. Is it appropriate, and if not how can you adjust it to make it so?