Skittles, Reese's and other popular Halloween candies see price hike
Americans have felt the effects of high inflation on groceries, gas, rent and now, as Halloween approaches, candy. According to the National Retail Federation, people are estimated to spend more than $3 billion on Halloween candy this year.
The 10 most popular candy brands, plus assortment bags, have seen an average price increase of 13% since 2021— with some sweets jumping more than 30%, according to the Datasembly Grocery Price Index.
The highest price increases were Skittles at 42% and Starburst at 35%. Other candies with high price hikes included M&M's, with an increase of 14%, and Reese's, with an increase of 13%, Datasembly found.
"If you have a busy house with lots of people trick-or-treating, you're definitely going to spend more," smart shopping expert Trae Bodge told CBS Los Angeles.
She said Halloween will be one of the most expensive holidays this year as families also deal with shrinkflation — the process where consumer items shrink in size while prices remain the same or even increase.
However, when it came to the lowest percent change, Nestle Crunch and Butterfinger came in at 6% and 7%, according to Datasembly.
Here is Datasembly's full list of major candies' price increases from 2021 to 2022:
- Skittles: $3.13 to $4.43, a 42% increase
- Starburst: $2.98 to $4.01, a 35% increase
- M&M's: $4.07 to $4.63, a 14% increase
- Snickers: $6.18 to $7.07, a 14% increase
- Twix: $5.01 to $5.65, a 13% increase
- Reese's: $6.01 to $6.81, a 13% increase
- Sour Patch Kids: $4.23 to $4.75, a 12% increase
- Kit Kat: $4.86 to $5.42, an 11% increase
- Assorted: $11.63 to $12.59, an 8% increase
- Butterfinger: $3.57 to $3.83, a 7% increase
- Nestle Crunch: $4.53 to $4.82, a 6% increase