Jacksonville, FL — Acosta Group’s Halloween 2023 Trends and Insights report, conducted through the company’s shopper community in late September, found that 76 percent of consumers plan to hand out candy next week — up 5 percent from 2022. Nearly half of those celebrating Halloween plan to spend at least $50 on the holiday, mostly on candy.
The research also found that nearly everyone buys candy for Halloween — 84 percent of respondents with kids under 5, 84 percent with school-aged kids and 85 percent with kids in hight school. In addition, those with kids are most likely to also purchase pumpkins, decorations and costumes.
“If there is one thing that shoppers have continued to do in 2023 despite the impact of inflation on their financial wellness, it’s celebrating the holidays! Even more households than last year will be handing out candy or other treats to trick or treaters, despite the fact that most think that the price of Halloween candy is higher this year. And fun fact for retailers — 54 percent of shoppers admit to buying Halloween candy early and eating so much of it that they have do another round of candy shopping before Halloween!” says Kathy Risch, SVP, Shopper Insights & Thought Leadership, at Acosta Group.
The report also found that nearly one-in-four households expect more than 50 trick-or-treaters this year and that chocolate candy in any form remains the top purchase during the Halloween season.
Consumers are also recognizing that candy is a treat during the holiday, with just one-in-four households with kids saying that there are not enough healthy choices for Halloween treats.
The report also revealed that 63 percent of shoppers have plans for Halloween this year, including handing out candy or other treats, attending a Halloween event, taking kids trick or treating, going to a party at a restaurant, club or bar and hosting a their own Halloween event.
When it comes to who will be knocking on doors this year, Acosta notes that popular costumes for kids this year range from pop culture icons like Taylor Swift, Barbie and Spiderman to classics like zombies, cats and witches.
