Halloween Candy Sales Fall 6.7% as Chocolate Prices and Living Costs Weigh on Shoppers

U.S. 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 consumers contend with high living costs and expensive chocolate. NielsenIQ also recorded an 11.7% decline in mid-September, erasing preseason gains from the previous two years. Chris Costagli, a NielsenIQ vice president, said high gas prices have deepened affordability worries. Regular gasoline averaged $4.29 a gallon as of Friday, up nearly 40% from a year earlier. He said shoppers are spending more on fuel, housing, clothing and food, and some simply cannot afford candy this year. Small bags were the only size with sales growth through mid-October, while large and extra-large bags fell most. Candy prices have climbed faster than inflation for several years, and candy and gum were up 44% over five years as of September.

On the right, the New York Post runs essentially the same NielsenIQ report as NBC News, with a headline that says chocolate prices "soar" and consumers "struggle." The Daily Wire takes a different route with a consumer-style list of healthy swaps. It cites $4 billion in expected candy spending, "shriek-flation," FDA standards phasing out synthetic dyes, and a New York Times report that Hershey's uses chocolate compounds and vegetable oil instead of cocoa butter. It recommends Unreal peanut butter cups, with 36% less sugar than Reese's, and names SkinnyDipped, Lily's and Justin's. It omits the Nielsen figures and Costagli. NBC News, on the left, leads with the sales decline, Costagli's quotes and the gas price. The left and the Post agree on the facts; the main split is the Daily Wire's product angle. AP matches the left.