Halloween Candy Sales Slump 6.7% as Pricey Chocolate and $4 Gas Squeeze Shoppers

NEW YORK, Oct. 24 (TodayViralUSA) — Americans are pulling back on Halloween candy this year, with sales running well behind last year’s pace as stubbornly high chocolate prices collide with a broader squeeze on household budgets.

Halloween candy sales fell 6.7% in the month ending Oct. 17 compared with the same period a year earlier, according to market research firm NielsenIQ, as reported by The Associated Press. NielsenIQ also recorded an 11.7% drop in candy sales in mid-September, wiping out the early-season gains the holiday enjoyed in each of the past two years.

Smaller bags, smaller budgets

Shoppers are trading down. Small bags were the only size category posting sales growth through mid-October, while large and extra-large bags saw the steepest declines, NielsenIQ said.

Chris Costagli, a vice president at NielsenIQ, told the AP that the pullback has less to do with candy prices alone than with how much consumers are already spending on fuel, housing, clothing and food. The average U.S. price of regular gasoline was $4.29 a gallon as of Friday, nearly 40% higher than a year earlier.

Candy has been getting more expensive for years. Candy and gum prices were up 44% over the five years through September, according to government data, roughly double the 22.5% rise in prices for food eaten at home over the same stretch.

Cocoa climbs again

Cocoa is the main culprit. Global prices hit a record $10,710 per metric ton in January 2025 after poor weather in West Africa, which supplies about 70% of the world’s chocolate. They eased to $3,241 by March of this year, but began rising again in the spring as the Iran war disrupted fertilizer supplies to Africa, and an El Niño weather pattern is expected to bring hot, dry conditions that could hurt the coming harvest.

Data from Consumer Edge tell a similar story: through Oct. 15, chocolate sales were down 2% from a year ago, with volumes off 7% even as prices rose 5%. Non-chocolate candy sales were down 9%.

Not doomed yet

Lower prices are not reviving demand on their own. Non-chocolate treats such as gummies and lollipops averaged $6.08 a pound in the nine weeks ending Oct. 17, about 3% cheaper than last year, but sales still did not improve, according to Nielsen data.

Some analysts expect a late surge. Sally Lyons Wyatt of the research firm Circana said shoppers have shifted to smaller, more frequent grocery trips and may simply be waiting until closer to Oct. 31. “I do believe we will still see softness overall with candy, but I don’t think Halloween is doomed,” she said. Consumer Edge noted that the day before Halloween and the day itself typically see 1.5 to 2 times the candy sales of an ordinary October day.