This article is reprinted by permission from NerdWallet. Forget the ghouls and ghosts — inflation is spooky enough. And it’s coming for your Halloween candies. Candy and gum prices rose 7.5% between September 2022 and September 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For context, the broader category of grocery prices increased 3.7% over that time frame.
Why is candy so expensive? Beyond overall inflation, which rose 3.7% year over year since September 2023, there are a few more reasons why candy is so expensive right now. The cost of raw sugar reached an 11-year high in April, per CNBC, due to the effects of extreme weather on the crop, as well as rising demand. And a U.S. agricultural policy that requires 85% of sugar purchases to come from domestic processors is further tightening an already strained supply, according to The Wall Street Journal. Consumers are taking notice. In a survey of 1,000 U.S. households that celebrate Halloween, 41% of respondents said that inflation has impacted how much they plan to spend on Halloween candy this year, according to Advantage Solutions, an e-commerce analytics firm. Plus: 9 ways to manage the stress that the holidays put on you and your financesGo for this cheap Halloween candy in 2023
Hot Tamales, made by Just Born, have dropped almost 45% in price compared with last year.
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Thankfully, there are some candies whose prices actually fell year over year, according to a new report from Pattern, an e-commerce analytics firm. So you can still indulge in some sweet treats without exceeding your budget. Pattern tracked the price changes of more than 30 types of candy on Amazon every day for one year. First, Pattern data scientists calculated a baseline price for specific candies — …
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