Halloween Candy Sales Fall 6.7% as Five-Year 44% Price Rise, Gas Costs and Pricey Chocolate Pinch U.S. Shoppers
Halloween candy sales are off to a slow start in the United States this year, the Associated Press reported on October 24. Data from market research firm NielsenIQ show candy sales fell 6.7% in the month ending October 17 from the same period last year; a 11.7% decline in mid-September erased the preseason gains of the previous two years.
Prices and the cost of living are the main culprits. U.S. government data show candy and gum prices were up 44% over five years as of September, against a 22.5% rise in prices for food eaten at home over the same period. Chris Costagli, a vice president at NielsenIQ, told the AP that the average U.S. price of a gallon of regular gasoline stood at $4.29 as of Friday, up nearly 40% from a year earlier, and that money spent on fuel, housing, clothing and food is squeezing Halloween budgets: some shoppers, he said, are not skipping candy because they noticed it costs more, but because they simply cannot afford it this year. Discount grocer Aldi this week advertised a 135-piece Mars variety pack for $19.87 — almost the same price consumers paid for a 250-piece pack five years ago.
Chocolate traces back to cocoa. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, global cocoa prices hit a record $10,710 per metric ton in January 2025, driven by poor weather in West Africa, which supplies about 70% of the world's chocolate, and speculative trading; prices later fell to $3,241 per metric ton in March, then began climbing again in the spring as the Iran war disrupted Africa's fertilizer supplies and the El Niño pattern raised forecasts of hot, dry weather through February. Cheaper candy did not sell better either: non-chocolate Halloween candy such as gummies and lollipops averaged $6.08 per pound in the nine weeks ending October 17, about 3% below last year, with no bump in sales, NielsenIQ data show.
Shoppers are downsizing instead: small bags were the only package size with sales growth through mid-October, while large and extra-large bags saw the steepest declines. Sally Lyons Wyatt, a food industry adviser at Circana, told the AP that consumers are shopping more deliberately, making smaller, more frequent trips and buying closer to when they plan to use products; she expects candy sales to remain soft overall but said Halloween is not doomed. The National Retail Federation expects Americans to spend $4.1 billion on Halloween candy this year, with overall Halloween spending projected at $13.5 billion, up from $13.1 billion in 2025. The National Confectioners Association, which represents makers including Mars, Smarties Candy Co. and Ferrara Candy Co., said in a statement to the AP on Friday that the peak of the season is just arriving and consumer enthusiasm remains incredibly strong.
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Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：南瓜造型糖果碗中装满待发给讨糖儿童的万圣节糖果（资料照片，2025年10月31日摄于日本三泽空军基地）。照片：美国空军 Jessel Fabara 摄，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / File photo: A pumpkin bowl of Halloween candy for trick-or-treaters at Misawa Air Base, Japan, October 31, 2025. Photo by Jessel Fabara, U.S. Air Force, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
