'It's a Halloween miracle': Distributors get creative amid pumpkin purchasing slump

Stores, garden centres and farms say they are seeing a strange abundance of pumpkins this year as the season comes to a close.

“What I noticed this year is the big box typically sell out early. And this year when I was doing some shopping I was noticing there was still significant amounts (of pumpkins),” says Ron Paul Garden Centre president Ray Dubois. “That spurred me to think that OK, maybe we got to do something special.”

Something special for Dubois meant sharing a post on social media promoting the centre’s pumpkin problem and Dubois’ flash sale solution – selling pumpkins of all shapes and sizes for $2 each.

“I’d rather get rid of them at a loss than be stuck with them,” Dubois said. “My expectation is by day’s end we may be sold out.”

Living Well Farm says it is facing a similar challenge with its decorative gourd sales.

“We've had fewer people come to the farm, and I think they've been buying less,” says Mike Reimer, the farm’s owner.

It’s an issue experts attribute to higher costs for other Halloween essentials.

“If consumers have to choose between more expensive candy -- which is almost a must if you're celebrating Halloween -- more expensive decorations, costumes versus a single one-time-use pumpkin, then you know which one consumers are going to drop from the list,” says Subbu Sivaramakrishnan, the associate dean of the Asper School of Business.

Sivaramakrishnan adds that due to the high inflation rate and cost of groceries, consumers are spending less time at the grocery store, decreasing their chances of purchasing a pumpkin.

“So instead of buying 10 to 15 pumpkins for a big family, they're buying like three or four,” says Food Fare manager Tarik Zeid.

The cold weather also seems to be more of a trick than a treat, leaving consumers with slim pumpkin pickings.

The gourds at the garden centre are kept indoors but Dubois says they won’t be there much longer, thanks to his push to have the public purchase pumpkins.

“It’s a Halloween miracle,” Dubois says.

Dubois adds that if there are still any pumpkins left after the sale, the centre will donate them to food banks and wildlife centres to make sure no gourd goes to waste.