Halloween Treat Prices Spook US Shoppers, Up 71% in Five Years

Halloween shoppers in the United States looking for sweet relief this season have instead been shocked by high prices for seasonal treats, as cost-of-living pressures continue to bite.

Demetrio Beltres, a 33-year-old financial adviser searching for Halloween bargains at a Target store in Manhattan, said he usually spends $15 to $20, but prices were much higher this year and he was trying to spend at least $20 to $30 to make sure he could give children something.

Analysis by the Groundwork Collaborative and the Century Foundation found that the cost of popular Halloween chocolates and confectionery was 15.3 percent higher this year than in 2025.

Separate research by personal finance firm Finance Buzz found that prices for Halloween treats have risen by 71 percent over the past five years, a much bigger increase than the general pace of price rises over the same period.

Confectionery prices have been pushed up by higher cocoa prices. According to International Monetary Fund figures via the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis, the cost of a tonne of cocoa rose to a high of more than $10,700 in January 2025, as climate change contributed to severe weather that affected supplies.

Stephen Zagor, an adjunct associate professor at Columbia Business School who specialises in food businesses, said the cocoa now being consumed was bought when prices were high. He said people have only so much to spend, and when everyday essentials cost more, they may feel less inclined to make this the most extravagant Halloween, adding that the holiday had become scary more from an economic perspective than from scaring people at the door.

Wider cost-of-living pressures have also increased, with inflation running at 3.7 percent and fuel prices still high. Diesel, at $6.32 a gallon, is only 20 cents below the record reached in September.

Mallory, a shopper in New York who declined to give her last name, said everything is expensive, so it did not surprise her that Halloween candy is expensive too.

Market research company NielsenIQ found the combined pressures affected how much people bought in the run-up to the holiday. Halloween treat sales were down 11.7 percent by mid-September, and by mid-October sales were down 6.7 percent.

Chris Costagli, NielsenIQ's vice-president of US food thought leadership, said shoppers appeared more willing to spend as Halloween neared but remained cautious. Smaller packs gained ground while larger sizes continued to struggle. He said this felt like a consumer who still wants the occasion but is paying much closer attention to what goes into the basket.

Zagor, himself a fan of Halloween, said cutting back could also present an opportunity to offer trick-or-treaters a different kind of experience, such as using a spooky fake skeleton hand to hand out treats or dressing up to meet them. Making treats at home, inviting people over to make them together, was another option he suggested.