Halloween expenses typically aren’t considered as pricey as Valentine’s Day or the busy winter holidays, but prices for that bowl of candy and trick-or-treating costumes have gone up.
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WBBM Newsradio’s Rob Hart said on the Noon Business Hour this week that Halloween spending is hitting record highs with consumers expected to spend more than $13 billion this year. Phil Lempert, founder of SuperMarketGuru.com in Los Angeles, joined Hart to discuss these growing costs.
“What we’re seeing is a lot of these chocolate manufacturers are already downsizing the size,” said Lampert. “So, you’re not going to be able to even find full size candy bars.”
“In other words, if you want to be the house that everyone likes, you're out of luck,” said Hart. He noted that some families are spending as much as $200 on candy alone for Halloween. Expenses can even balloon for those who buy early and end up eating the candy before trick-or-treaters even arrive.
Lampert said that he’s observed smaller bags of candy on the shelves this year – including a bag of Hersey’s small bars for close to $20. Even as cocoa prices have come down slightly, Lampert said research shows 57% of Americans have said higher prices are changing they way they spend on Halloween candy. Hart said Halloween candy spending is expected to be up 11% compared to last year.
Some production costs have gone up for candy makers. Lampert said we’ll have to wait until the end of the year to see if prices went up more to cover those costs or to get more profits from consumers.
Candy isn’t the only thing getting more expensive. Costumes, sometimes worn for just one day, and decorations are also getting pricier.
“Especially in... the case of costumes, they’re all coming from China,” said Lampert. “So we’ve got the tariff situation. To be honest with you, if you haven't bought your costumes yet, you know, make your own, because the price is going to go up even more between now and the end of the month.”
Thrifted costumes are another option. WBBM’s Noon Business Hour covered thrifting as a way to cut costs earlier this year.
One thing that doesn’t seem like an option on many people’s minds is skipping Halloween festivities altogether, said Lampert.
“Halloween this year is going to be bigger than ever,” he told Hart. “And not just from a dollar standpoint. I think with all the turmoil that’s going on in the world and in... the nation, people are gonna be going out for Halloween to have a little fun, because these days we don’t have a lot of fun.”