Peninsula party store gets boost from viral TikTok after slow Halloween
MOUNTAIN VIEW -- Longtime party supplies store Diddams Party & Toy Store was having trouble moving costumes off the shelves this Halloween.
Sales in October, traditionally its busiest month, were looking downright scary.
Owner Steve Diddams has been running the Peninsula stores for 34 years. They are located in Mountain View, San Carlos and San Mateo.
"We were scared to death. We had to buy this stuff a year in advance and so you buy it and you have to sell it all in a week and a half," he said.
Diddams began to worry.
His daughter, Marin Diddams in New York, made a TikTok to try and help but she didn't tell her dad.
Within days, it received more than 300,000 views and thousands of comments.
"Unbelievable, I know nothing about TikTok," Diddams said. "I couldn't believe it. I thought I couldn't have asked for a nicer video. She was just beyond sweet."
He couldn't believe how many customers poured into his stores to show their support.
Los Altos resident Shilpa Dharmadhikari saw the video and brought her daughter to the Mountain View store Sunday evening to buy Halloween costume accessories.
"It was so sincere and heartfelt and we're, like, 'Oh we have to go here.' It was like, OK, it's last minute, we have to go do Halloween shopping and we're thinking what to do. We see the video and we're thinking 'There's no two ways -- we're going to the store.'"
Diddams said the TikTok made the store front-of-mind for many longtime customers.
He said similar party stores across the country are seeing a 20 percent drop in sales this Halloween, due to the sluggish economy and online or big-box retailers.
"All my friends are negative 20 and I'm even. So that is just a gift -- giant gift," he said.
Sales are nowhere near pre-pandemic levels but Diddams is grateful.
Customers who mention the TikTok are given a 50 percent discount.
"As I see people one by one, I'm not sure that my efforts are appreciated and -- just to see this -- I mean thousands of them saying 'My favorite stores when I was a child.' It was beyond nice," he said referring to the post's comments.