It seems people with a sweet-tooth have eased their cravings for candy since the pandemic days, when snackers were stuck at home and hungering for comfort food. Halloween candy sales volume is expected to fall nearly 4% this year vs. last year while inflation-fueled dollars spent should hit a record high, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence Analysis.
The market research company projects 2023 Halloween candy spending will rise 3% to a record high $3.9 billion. Candy sales have trended higher since the 2012 lows and peaked during 2021, according to the report. Demand started falling in the last two years from the pandemic peak as prices continued to climb.
The nearly $4 billion expected to be spent on 2023 Halloween confectionaries is the highest dollar amount on record. Higher prices are boosting total sales, which offsets lower demand.
Candy will cost munchers 7% more this year, following last year's 14% price spike. Higher input costs for the sweet stuff and higher labor costs have pushed up prices. Needless to say, wages have not kept up with those type of increases.
"There's no sugarcoating the fact that wages haven't kept up with the jaw-breaking rise in candy prices, work in 2023 earns the average person a whole candy bar less per hour than it did in 2021," said Michael Zdinak, Economics Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Still, Halloween candy spending per household has risen since around 2018, according to S&P Global Market's report.
Candy Stocks Melt
The candy slowdown is at least partly reflected in IBD's confectionary industry group, which fell to a teeth-chattering No. 180 out of the 197 IBD industry groups.
Shares of chocolate company Hershey crumbled nearly 19% this year as quarterly sales have cooled. Meanwhile, Tootsie Roll Industries skidded more than 24% this year.
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