Exactly how we will all celebrate Halloween is a bit uncertain this year thanks to the coronavirus, but that isn’t stopping folks from loading up on candy for the holiday.
According to a report by the National Confectioners Association, Halloween candy sales were up 13% in the month ending September 6th, as compared to the same time last year. Usually the yearly increases are only in the single digits. And it seems chocolates are more popular than ever, with Halloween chocolates seeing a 25% increase.
Part of the reason could be that chain stores, like Shoprite and Meijer, put up their Halloween displays earlier than normal, although some speculate it could simply be that after months of dealing with the pandemic, folks are ready to celebrate again.
Not surprising, Halloween is the biggest holiday of the year for candy makers, representing nearly 14% of their annual $36 billion in sales each year. It tops Christmas, Easter and Valentine’s Day when it comes to sales.
- But it’s not all good news. Sales could start to decrease as areas adopt trick-or-treating guidelines due to the coronavirus. That’s particularly bad because the highest Halloween candy sales usually come in the last two weeks of October. In fact, Mars Wrigley says 55% of their Halloween sales come during that time frame.
Source: Huffington Post