The biggest scare for consumers isn’t coming from a haunted house, it’s from the checkout line when they’re ringing up the sweet stuff for trick-or-treaters.
Enter “candyflation.”
Along with meat, milk and eggs, another staple — at least at this time of year — has jumped in price, according to the wonks at Datasembly.
Their Grocery Price Index crunched the numbers and got to the chewy center of a big problem: The average nationwide price for candy and gum is showing an increase of 12.8% from last year — that’s nearly double the 6.7% jump of regular grocery prices.
“High inflation drove a national increase of 19.9% last year across the Candy and Gum category, so an additional 12.8% increase from October 2022 through October 7, 2023 makes for more of a trick than a treat for consumers,” its analysts contend.
The price spike is specifically high in the Northeast, the company says, where Vermont, Maine and Pennsylvania are seeing respective price increases of 14.7%, 14.2% and 14.1%.
With this in mind, big-name retailers are discounting their candy: The New York Post reports Walmart has slashed the price of its trick-or-treat-ready variety packs from $52.99 to $23.99.
Still, candy shoppers are going to be looking to save: Although 80% of people plan to buy candy, according to a Numerator survey, they’re increasingly looking to off-brand sweets to retailers like Dollar Tree to keep those candy bowls full.
Survey questions, methodology and results have not been verified or endorsed by ABC News or The Walt Disney Company.