Halloween candy sales in the US have fallen 6.7% over the month to October 17, as high living costs, rising fuel prices and sharply more expensive chocolate weigh on shoppers.
The decline follows an 11.7% drop recorded in mid-September, according to NielsenIQ, wiping out the pre-season growth seen during the previous two years.
Chris Costagli, a vice president and food thought leader at NielsenIQ, said consumers were facing increased costs across essentials including fuel, housing, clothing and food. The average price of a gallon of regular petrol in the US stood at $4.29 on Friday, almost 40% higher than a year earlier.
“Some of the decisions they’re making about Halloween candy, it’s not necessarily because, ‘I notice it’s more expensive than last year,’ it’s, ‘I can’t afford it this year because I’ve paid so much more for so many other things. I just don’t have the financial means to buy it this year,’” Mr Costagli said.
Rising chocolate prices put pressure on Halloween spending
Smaller bags were the only size category to record sales growth through mid-October. Sales of large and extra-large bags saw the steepest falls.
Candy and chewing gum prices in the US were 44% higher in September than five years earlier, government data showed. Over the same period, food bought for consumption at home rose by 22.5%.
The price of cocoa has been a major factor behind the increase. Global cocoa prices reached a record $10,710 per metric ton in January 2025 after poor weather in West Africa, which supplies 70% of the world’s chocolate, alongside speculative trading in the futures market.
Prices later fell to $3,241 per metric ton in March but began rising again in the spring. The source material attributes the renewed increase to disruption to African fertiliser supplies caused by the Iran war, while the El Niño weather pattern is expected to damage production through hot, dry conditions until February.
Even cheaper non-chocolate products have not prompted shoppers to spend more. The average price of gummies, lollipops and other non-chocolate Halloween sweets was $6.08 per pound in the nine weeks to October 17, about 3% lower than a year earlier, Nielsen data showed. Sales nevertheless failed to increase.
A 135-piece Mars variety pack containing chocolate bars including Milky Way, Trix and Snickers was being advertised by Aldi for $19.87 this week. That was close to the price of a 250-piece variety pack five years ago.
Sally Lyons Wyatt, a global executive vice president and food industry adviser at Circana, said shoppers were responding to higher grocery bills by making smaller, more frequent supermarket trips and buying items shortly before they planned to use them.
That could mean some consumers are delaying their Halloween purchases, she said. “I do believe we will still see softness overall with candy, but I don’t think Halloween is doomed.”
The National Confectioners Association, which represents manufacturers including Mars, Smarties Candy Co. and Ferrara Candy Co., said it remained confident about the season.
“We are just now entering the peak period for Halloween and consumer enthusiasm remains incredibly strong,” the trade group said in a statement on Friday.
