Across Europe, the Golden Quarter is evolving from a series of separate events into one connected festive trading period that stretches from early autumn to New Year. 

Shoppers increasingly want inspiration, convenience and value across food, drink, gifting, décor and entertainment. Retailers are responding with earlier launches, broader seasonal ranges and more integrated shopping experiences. 

Source: IGD Research 

“Success in the Golden Quarter depends on engaging shoppers from inspiration to purchase, delivering genuine value, and adapting offers as needs evolve across the season.” 

Linda M Haden, Insight Analyst, IGD 

How has European shopper behaviour evolved?  

The rise of at-home celebrations has been a key driver behind the evolution of European shopping behaviour over the festive season. Rising restaurant prices, the emergence of restaurant-quality grocery meal solutions and widespread home delivery options mean consumers can recreate premium dining experiences at home. Hosting has thus become more accessible and affordable, creating opportunities for retailers and suppliers to capture spend that might previously have gone to restaurants, and other foodservice operators.  

2026 festive launches reflect this shift. In the UK, Waitrose now leans heavily into premium centrepieces and restaurant-inspired party food. Carrefour’s 2026 Traiteur range features new apéritif-style finger food, while Albert Heijn’s 2025 season brought 750+ festive products, including shared-dining gourmet sets.  

Consumer need	Previously	Today
Home entertaining	Home entertaining was more labour intensive, with limited online delivery options, fewer premium pre-prepared options and greater pressure to cook from scratch. Home entertaining before Christmas was therefore less commonplace.	Pre-prepared meal solutions and online delivery are making home entertaining easier, encouraging consumers to host at home. A Christmas day itself remains centred on dining at home.
Celebration planning	Planning individual purchases by category and occasion.	Planning the entire celebration as a connected experience, spanning food, drink, gifting, décor and entertainment.
Retail journey	Visiting multiple stores for gifts, decorations, food and seasonal treats.	Seeking one-stop-shop convenience, combining festive food, gifting, décor and inspiration across physical and digital channels.
Shopping timing	Most seasonal purchases concentrated close to the event.	Earlier planning and purchasing help spread costs and secure promotions, while allowing more time to prepare for multiple celebrations, including those at home.
Channel preference	Primarily in-store shopping.	Seamlessly moving between online and offline channels, using digital tools for inspiration, planning and convenience.

Halloween now marks the beginning of the festive period  

Halloween is becoming a key opening event in Europe’s Golden Quarter. Retailers are giving it more space, extending assortments and using experiential displays to build momentum ahead of Christmas. 

IGD’s in-store visits show, anecdotally, that grocery retailers are dedicating greater space, broader assortments and more experiential merchandising to Halloween.  

Source: IGD Research 

Photos (in order): Eroski, Spain; Rewe, Germany; Delhaize, Belgium; Sainbury’s UK; Morrisons, UK; SPAR, Belgium 

 

Halloween now runs alongside existing local autumn traditions and feast days across multiple markets in Europe. For instance, German and Swiss stores balance Halloween inventory with traditional merchandise for St. Martin's Day. Meanwhile, Spanish retailers often stock both Halloween-themed products and traditional All Saints' Day lines simultaneously. 

“Halloween sales in 2026 (in Germany) are even expected to be slightly above the previous year's level, which is quite surprising given the challenging consumer environment… [I]t has long since established itself as a fixture in the German retail calendar.”  

Stefan Genth, CEO, German Retail Federation (HDE) 

Meanwhile, participation continues to grow across many European markets, particularly among younger consumers, helping establish Halloween as a meaningful, revenue-driving commercial event.  

Within the UK, IGD’s ShopperVista research showed that for 2026, 36% of shoppers planned to celebrate Halloween, up from 27% in 2025. Moreover, 46% of those celebrating Halloween this year planned to decorate their homes, while 43% intended to buy food and drink for the occasion. This growth is increasingly being driven by younger cohorts, with participation peaking among 18-24-year-olds.  

Source: IGD Research 

In France, a consumer study from Rossel Conseil Médias in October 2026 notes that 53% of young adults, those between 18 and 24, and 51% of those aged between 25 and 34 plan to make specific purchases for Halloween. The German Retail Federation said 15% of German consumers plan to purchase Halloween products in 2026. 

Creating and curating a seasonal vibe 

Leading retailers in Europe are using a mix of cross-category eye-catching displays and signage to turn stores into festive destinations. Through cross-category merchandising, themed activations and strategic product placements, retailers are helping shoppers build festive celebrations in a single trip. 

Across the stores IGD has visited, Halloween displays focus on confectionery, but ranges are enhanced with themed décor and party products, while Christmas displays integrate gifting, premium food, seasonal bakery, decorations and entertaining solutions. Ornate displays and cross-merchandising drive dwell time and impulse purchases while creating moments that online retail platforms cannot replicate.  

UK retailers continue to focus on seasonal shelving, while in Continental Europe there has been a concerted move to use shippers to activate seasonal events and displays.  

Source: IGD Research 

Photos (in order): Carrefourr, Belgium; The Range, UK; Waitrose, Uk; Carrefour Hyper, Belgium; Delhaize, Belgium  

What does this mean for planning the Golden Quarter in 2027? 

For retailers and suppliers in Europe, success in the Golden Quarter means capturing a season that now stretches across multiple occasions, blending long-standing traditions with newer celebrations.  

As home entertaining in the run up to Christmas and New Year is now a cultural norm, with grocers playing a bigger role in helping consumers host, through convenient food solutions, inspiration and seasonal merchandise. Retailers that make entertaining easier and more enjoyable will be best placed to drive engagement and spending across the entire festive season. On another note, suppliers are no longer competing solely against rival brands. They are also competing for a share of consumers’ total festive entertainment spending.  

What must retailers do? 

• Compete for entertainment budgets: position stores as one stop destinations for entertaining ideas and needs by providing festive decorations, sharing platters, finger foods and ready-to-serve products that make hosting easier and less time-consuming. 

•  Create one-stop celebration destinations: connect food, drinks, décor, gifting and party essentials to capture the full occasion spend. 

•  Build mission-led solutions: merchandise around hosting occasions such as family meals, drinks parties and festive gatherings rather than individual categories. 

•  Increase basket size through bundling: use meal deals, party packages and cross-category promotions to encourage shoppers to buy more in a single trip. 

•  Turn data into inspiration: leverage loyalty and AI to deliver personalised hosting ideas, recipes and targeted offers. 

•  Blend value with affordable indulgence: offer premium experiences at accessible price points to help consumers celebrate more often at home. 

What must suppliers do? 

• Capture the at-home dining shift: position products as affordable alternatives to eating out, helping retailers win a greater share of entertainment spend. 

• Win planning cycles earlier: engage retailers sooner with insight-led recommendations as festive ranging and activation decisions are increasingly made in advance. 

• Support private label expansion: help retailers develop differentiated own-brand festive and limited-edition ranges spanning value, core and premium tiers. 

• Align JBP and retail media investment: secure budget within Joint Business Plans and align retail media investment behind key festive missions, ensuring marketing activity supports retailer priorities and provides measurable category growth. 

• Deliver retail-ready innovation: combine compelling products with strong in-store and digital activation that simplifies execution and drives visibility. 

• Become a growth partner: use data, shopper insights and occasion expertise to drive basket growth, trade-up and engagement throughout the festive season.