When it comes to picking up paint for your summer DIY plans or getting your hands on a new air conditioner to beat the heat, Home Depot is one of the most reliable shopping options. But the retailer has also managed to capture the attention of consumers with some more unique offerings over the past few years. In Chicago, some Home Depot stores feature a hot dog cart for shoppers to stop at, and recently, the retailer has started selling affordable tiny homes. However, no product has gained quite the same popularity as Home Depot's 12-foot skeleton—and this year, Skelly has a brand new look. Read on to find out how the Home Depot giant skeleton is getting a major upgrade.
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Home Depot's giant skeleton has helped create record sales for the retailer.
ShutterstockHome Depot has become a hotspot for Halloween decorations over the last few years, thanks in large part to its 12-foot skeleton. Despite a hefty price-tag of $299, Skelly has created record sales for the home improvement retailer, and has sold out multiple times since it was first introduced in 2020, Insider reported.
"What our holiday decoration team does is go out into the market, find inspiration, and see what we can do differently. We went to haunted houses to see what they were doing. We watched all the classic scary movies," Lance Allen, Home Depot’s senior merchant of holiday décor, told CNN.
According to Allen, the giant skeleton—which doesn't actually have a name, but has been dubbed "Skelly" by shoppers—was inspired by a giant torso that the team spotted at a trade show.
"We really brought the item to market at the perfect time," Allen explained. "It was during the first year of the pandemic, when everybody just needed to smile."
And this year, Home Depot is offering a brand new giant skeleton for shoppers.
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The retailer is selling an upgraded version for 2023.
Home DepotWe're still months away from October, but Home Depot already has Halloween on the mind.
In a July 12 press release, the retailer revealed its 2023 Halloween product lineup—revealing that it is kicking off its spooky season offerings in July in order "to meet extraordinarily high demand." And while the beloved Skelly is, of course, back on the market, so is an upgraded version of the original skeleton.
This year, Home Depot is selling a giant Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas. The new decoration is even grander than Skelly, coming in at 13-feet tall and retailing for $399. He even sings.
"Bring the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town to your home with this 13-ft. Animated Jack Skellington. This giant figure will tower over your yard for scares all Halloween season," the retailer states in the product description. "The head and mouth move for a life-like display and he sings and dances for fun frights."
The Jack Skellington decoration is part of a partnership with Disney.
Home DepotThe 13-foot Jack Skellington is being sold exclusively at Home Depot to celebrate the 30th anniversary of The Nightmare Before Christmas, the Los Angeles Times reported. But it's not the only Halloween decoration that the retailer is releasing through its partnership with Disney.
This year, customers can also find several Disney-based inflatables, including a 13.5-foot LED Oogie Boogie Archway, also from Nightmare Before Christmas, and a 5-foot blow-up version of the Sanderson sisters from Hocus Pocus. Disney also owns the rights to Star Wars, so Home Depot shoppers will be able to get their hands on an animatronic Yoda and a Jedi Grand Master decoration this Halloween, according to the L.A. Times.
"Products will arrive in stores at the end of August and are available online now," Home Depot said in its July press release.
Shoppers are already praising the new upgrade.
Eric Broder Van Dyke / ShutterstockThe Nightmare Before Christmas version of Skelly might have the potential to outsell the original, as the new product has already created a craze among online shoppers in just the last few days.
"Do I want the 13ft Jack Skellington from Home Depot? NO, I NEED THE 13ft Jack Skellington from Home Depot," one person tweeted on July 13.
In fact, the giant Jack Skellington skeleton is listed as a best seller on Home Depot's website and has already sold out at least once, according to Nexstar journalist Scott Gustin.
"Only 60 remaining. You better hurry if you want the 13-foot animated Jack Skellington," Gustin tweeted on July 15, with a follow-up tweet showing it listed as out-of-stock that same day.
As of July 17, the 13-foot skeleton appears to be back in stock on Home Depot's website—but there's no telling how long that will last.
