Economy 4 min read By Alice Ashford
US Halloween candy sales fall as high fuel and food costs squeeze shoppers
Halloween candy sales have slowed this year as high petrol prices and rising living costs push American shoppers towards small bags and away from large sizes.
Halloween candy sales have started slowly this year, as American consumers contend with high living costs and expensive chocolate. Sales fell 6.7 per cent in the month ending 17 October compared with the same period last year, according to the market research firm NielsenIQ. The firm also recorded an 11.7 per cent drop in candy sales in mid-September, which wiped out the pre-season gains seen in the previous two years.
Chris Costagli, a vice president and food thought leader at NielsenIQ, said high fuel prices have heightened Americans' worries about affordability, and that is dampening demand for Halloween treats. As of the end of last week, the average price of a gallon of regular petrol in the United States stood at $4.29, up nearly 40 per cent on the previous year. Costagli said households are spending far more on fuel, housing, clothing and food, and that many shoppers are not simply noticing that candy costs more. Instead, he said, they feel they cannot afford it this year because of the extra money they are paying for everything else.
The shift in buying habits is visible in pack sizes. Small bags were the only sizes showing sales growth through mid-October, while large and extra-large bags recorded the steepest declines. Candy prices have been rising faster than general inflation for several years. As of September, candy and gum prices were up 44 per cent over a five-year period, according to government data, while prices for all food eaten at home rose 22.5 per cent over the same span. The discount grocer Aldi was this week advertising a 135-piece variety pack of Mars Inc. chocolate bars, including Milky Way, Trix and Snickers, for $19.87, close to what shoppers paid for a 250-piece pack five years ago.
Cocoa is the main driver of these increases. Global cocoa prices reached a record $10,710 per metric ton in January 2025, due to poor weather in West Africa, which supplies around 70 per cent of the world's chocolate, and speculative trading in the cocoa futures market, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Prices had fallen steadily from that peak and reached $3,241 per metric ton in March, but they began climbing again in the spring as the Iran war disrupted fertiliser supplies in Africa. The El Niño weather pattern is also expected to hurt production, with hot, dry conditions forecast through February.
Lower prices have not automatically revived demand. The average price of non-chocolate Halloween sweets, such as gummies and lollipops, was $6.08 per pound in the nine weeks ending 17 October, about 3 per cent lower than a year earlier, according to Nielsen data. Sales did not rise as a result. Sally Lyons Wyatt, a global executive vice president and food industry adviser at the market research company Circana, said many US shoppers are coping with higher grocery prices by making smaller and more frequent supermarket trips and buying products closer to the time they plan to use them. She wondered whether shoppers were holding off on candy purchases until nearer Halloween. « People are very intentional and thoughtful about what they want to consume, not just for holidays, but in general, » 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, a trade group representing candy makers including Mars, Smarties Candy Co. and Ferrara Candy Co., said it remained optimistic. In a statement issued on Friday, the group said: « We are just now entering the peak period for Halloween and consumer enthusiasm remains incredibly strong. »
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