Halloween’s most extravagant purchases make more sense when you consider who gets to enjoy them.

Last night, my family and I drove around our community looking at Halloween displays.

Some houses and yards were absurdly overdone, to our absolute delight.

There were creepy clowns, towering skeletons and life-sized Freddy Kruegers.

Where do these folks store everything? Does Freddy stay in the guest room ‘til next October?

What once seemed like a niche industry now has Costco and Home Depot helping homeowners turn front yards into neighbourhood attractions.

Americans were expected to spend US$4.3 billion on Halloween decorations this year.

The seasonal retailers have some sensible economics behind the madness.

Spirit Halloween seeks short-term leases in vacant storefronts, giving landlords rental income while concentrating its store operations around peak demand.

That helps manage expenses, although it doesn’t establish the enormous profit margins folks often assume.

Meanwhile, customers willingly take on costs that extend well beyond the checkout.

They assemble the monsters, arrange the lighting and surrender storage space for most of the year.

Part of the payoff arrives when a car slows down and the occupants start grinning.

Our family contributed last night.

Then tomorrow, Christmas starts moving in.

I had one neighbour who proudly redid EVERYTHING on November 1. Imagine the logistics of that one-day changeover.

That’s the kind of motivation worth exploring through the lens of I Need That. These homeowners are buying the means to create an experience for everyone who passes.

Product teams can learn plenty by looking beyond the person paying.

Who else gets to enjoy the purchase, and how does their response reward the buyer?

Happy Halloween to the folks giving us something wonderful to drive past, and to everyone else along just to enjoy it!

If you’d like help creating and marketing products people feel compelled to buy, the product marketing consultants at Graphos Product can help.