To understand the sweet Halloween confections people are enjoying and how they’re enjoying them, Instacart calculated the share of grocery orders containing candy in October 2023 and commissioned an online survey conducted by The Harris Poll of more than 2,000 Americans. The report features insights about the top candy picks state-by-state, what's uniquely popular in different regions, how many people plan to trick-or-treat and pass out candy this year, and much more.
Halloween hype
According to our survey, more than three in four Americans (76%) like to celebrate Halloween, with one in four (25%) saying Halloween is their favorite holiday.
According to Instacart's survey:
- This year, half of Americans (50%) plan to eat Halloween candy
- Nearly half of Americans (46%) plan to pass out Halloween candy to trick-or-treaters
- 31% of Americans plan to dress up in a costume
- 23% of Americans will venture out trick-or-treating
When does the Halloween hype begin? One in three Americans (33%) start getting in the Halloween spirit before October, while 38% do so at the beginning to mid-October, and 13% say they don’t get into the spirit until the week of Halloween.
Instacart's purchase data confirms October 31 is the most popular day for ordering candy, which makes sense considering its delivery is a convenient option for last-minute candy stock-ups. While candy sales saw small spikes throughout the month, 21% of orders on October 31, 2023 included candy.
Top candies that trick-or-treaters crave
There's no doubt that classic candies reign supreme during Halloween. Here’s the leaderboard of the top 10 candies, which skews heavily towards chocolate/peanut/peanut butter candies with only two sour and fruity confections making the list.
In terms of candy sizes, the survey found that among Americans who plan to pass out candy to trick-or-treaters or eat Halloween candy:
- 83% plan to purchase fun-size candies in a variety pack
- 36% will purchase full-size candies
- 22% will splurge for king-size candies - wow!
Top sweets by state
When it comes to the most popular candy purchased in every state, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups dominated the map, claiming the top spot in 40 states, including California, Texas, and New York. Peanut M&M's made a notable splash in Hawaii, Idaho, and Utah, while M&M’s were a favorite in northwestern and mid-western states like Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
States and their favorites
Each state has its unique quirks, and candy is no exception. These were the candies purchased the most in every state compared to the national average.
Some king-size callouts:
- Florida's obsession with Milky Way Dark was 248% over the national average.
- Missouri rolled with Tootsie Rolls, with the candy showing up in carts 166% more often than the national average.
- New York was fond of Ferrero Rocher Hazelnut Chocolates, purchasing the chocolates 141% more often.
- Maine's love for the highly-debated candy corn shined brightly with purchases 138% than the national average. New Hampshire was close behind with orders for Candy Corn 110% higher than average.
- North Carolina and Georgia were big on Nerds, with purchases 120% and 111% higher than the national average.
Sweet-toothed states: The highs and lows
The biggest sweet tooths: These were the top five states that bought the most Halloween candy, based on the share of orders that contained candy:
- Utah
- Oregon
- Nebraska
- Montana
- Idaho
The not-so-sweet tooths: Here were the bottom five states that bought the least Halloween candy, based on the share of orders that contained candy:
- Hawaii
- Florida
- Washington, D.C.
- California
- Georgia
Instacart’s Scare Score: Mapping out Halloween's spookiest spots
For the second year in a row, Instacart is sharing a tool that lets you enter your zip code to discover your area’s Scare Score. This score, determined by analyzing candy, costume, and decor purchases via Instacart, rates communities' Halloween spirit—and shows the top candies in consumers' zip code.
With this unique metric, Instacart calculated this year’s Halloween’s Best Haunts, a list of the top 10 zip codes boasting the highest Scare Scores, aka the places guaranteeing a top-notch trick-or-treating experience.
From Draper, UT to San Jose, CA, here’s a look at the communities with the highest Scare Scores.
Trick-or-Treat Tourism: According to the survey, nearly three in four Americans who plan to go trick-or-treating this Halloween (74%) will do so in their own neighborhood, while more than half (55%) say they will venture to other neighborhoods – either within their city/town (44%) or outside of their city/town (22%).
Ding-Dong!: Among those who plan to pass out candy to trick-or-treaters, 61% expect 25 or more trick-or-treaters, 29% expect 50 or more, and 13% expect 100 or more trick-or-treaters this Halloween. It seems most of them plan to be plenty prepared with their candy stock, as 89% expect to have leftover candy at the end of the night and 16% expect to have a lot of candy leftover.
Seasonal favorites: October's top picks
While candy gets all the limelight for Halloween, other seasonal purchases stand out in October. The following items were purchased more during the week ending on Halloween compared to the rest of 2023:
- Pumpkins took center stage and were purchased 1,133% more often than the rest of the year.
- Halloween decor was purchased 1,400% more often.
- Variety Pack Candies were purchased 886% more often, with record-breaking purchase days on October 30 and 31.
Meanwhile, different varieties of squash, pumpkin bread, and Halloween costumes from retailers like Spirit Halloween all popped significantly throughout the month.
With costume purchases spiking in 2023, Instacart wanted to know how many people are planning to dress up this year and which costumes will be the most popular. Its survey found that more than three in 10 Americans (31%) plan to dress up for Halloween, and among those who do, horror-themed (32%), spooky (31%), unique (30%) and funny (30%) top the list for costume descriptions.
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