Walmart and Mars Use AI to Get Ready for an Earlier Halloween Rush

For candy and costume companies, Halloween planning now begins well before fall. Mars said consumers are leaning into “Summerween” by buying trick-or-treat candy in July, pushing companies to think beyond the traditional Halloween selling window.

The shift creates a supply-chain challenge: companies must predict not only how much shoppers will want, but when demand starts, where it appears, and how product preferences change by region.

Mars is using AI to track and plan when its treats are in high demand, layering in early-buying behavior, available inventory, production capacity, and customer requirements. The goal is to answer four practical questions: what consumers will want, what Mars should make, where inventory should go, and when shoppers will want it.

Business Insider reported that Mars’ research found regional differences, including Western US demand for Halloween-themed novelty treats and Southern preference for gummy candy. That kind of insight helps the company route inventory more precisely.

Walmart’s Halloween supply-chain work starts with forecasting. The retailer analyzes last year’s Halloween data, new candy releases, and social media trends with AI to inform supplier orders.

It also monitors distribution networks, comparing what is in each trailer with current store inventory. The system can flag which trailers should be unloaded immediately and which can wait, helping Walmart manage the flow of seasonal goods during the holiday rush.

Getting products to warehouses is only part of the job; stores still need to move seasonal inventory from backrooms to shelves quickly. Walmart uses automation to sort candy and costumes into pallets based on where merchandise will go in store aisles, while IoT and RFID tags help ensure pallets reach the right store.

The clear takeaway for retailers: AI matters most when it improves availability. As Walmart’s Indira Uppuluri told Business Insider, smart systems only matter if shoppers can get the assortment they want when they need it.