This Halloween, the fright isn’t just at the haunted house.
asserted
fright → haunt → house
Rising prices for everything from groceries to gas are driving many consumers to cut back.
asserted
prices → rise → consumers
“I’m walking to save a little bit of money,” said Lakisha Reardon, a legal assistant.
asserted
Reardon → walk → money
“I’m bringing in my own lunch.”
asserted
I → bring → lunch
Reardon said she has especially seen her electric bill spike this year.
asserted
bill → say → ?
She said she is paying an extra $150 every month.
asserted
she → say → 150
“I’m ready to invest in candles,” she said.
asserted
she → ’m → candles
But one thing she won’t give up?
asserted
she → give → thing
Average prices for chewing gum and candy have soared 8.1% over the last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
uncertain
prices → soar → Statistics
Despite the higher prices, Americans are still buying treats.
asserted
Americans → buy → treats
“I remember being a little kid and being super excited when I would get Reese’s Cups,” said Abby Mynatt, a college student who lives in Knoxville, Tennessee.
asserted
who → remember → Knoxville
“I want to give that to some other children.”
asserted
I → want → children
Mynatt, 21, said she usually spends around $50 for Halloween candy.
asserted
she → say → candy
She is expecting to shell out a bit more money this year despite financial pressures.
asserted
She → expect → pressures
“I certainly think there are a little more tense things with my budget right now,” she said.
asserted
she → think → budget
“But I still think that certain things, even just little pleasures, are still worth it.”
asserted
things → think → ?
The price of non-chocolate candy items has averaged $3.31 this year, up 1.8% from last year, according to PwC.
uncertain
price → average → PwC.
But Halloween chocolate prices have jumped 15.5%, to an average of $5.67 per package.
asserted
prices → jump → package
Industry experts attribute the rise in chocolate prices partly to a cocoa shock over the last couple years.
asserted
experts → attribute → years
Extreme weather in key cocoa-producing countries like Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana sent global cocoa prices soaring — they quadrupled from January 2023 to January 2025, according to data from the International Monetary Fund.
uncertain
they → produce → Fund
“Because chocolate makers buy cocoa months, sometimes up to two years ahead, shoppers are paying for that spike now,” said Ali Furman, PwC’s Consumer Markets Industry leader.
asserted
Furman → buy → spike
“Cocoa prices have since fallen by about half, but lower costs take time to reach the shelf and won’t show up on shelves this Halloween season.”
asserted
costs → fall → shelves
The market research firm NIQ has seen a more muted increase in prices, with chocolate overall up 9.4% from a year ago but Halloween-specific chocolate just up 1.7%.
asserted
firm → see → chocolate
Analysts say tariffs this year aren’t helping, either.
asserted
tariffs → say → ?
In July, the U.S. imposed tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on 60 trade partners.
asserted
U.S. → impose → partners
“Chocolate comes from elsewhere, so tariffs being added onto it have certainly increased costs that manufacturers are feeling as well,” said Chris Costagli, the leader of food and non-alcoholic beverage insights at NIQ.
asserted
Costagli → come → NIQ
Still, the National Retail Federation projects that Halloween spending will soar to $13.5 billion this season, with 96% of Halloween shoppers expecting to buy sweets.
asserted
% → project → sweets
It’s part of a broader trend this year of consumers leaning into little luxuries like makeup and movie tickets as an antidote for economic gloom.
asserted
consumers → ’ → gloom
A lot of that gloom stems from concerns about inflation and the rising cost of living.
asserted
lot → stem → living
Consumer prices have jumped 3.4% over the last year in large part due to rising energy costs, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
uncertain
prices → jump → Statistics
With wages up just 3% over the same period, paychecks aren’t keeping up with prices.
asserted
paychecks → keep → prices
It has led many people to forgo bigger purchases and cut back in small ways every day.
asserted
It → lead → ways
Leonard Smith is planning to buy Halloween candy this year, but says he may cut back.
“I don’t want to spend that much money because I need money for other things besides candy,” said Smith, 36, who lives in Delaware.
uncertain
who → plan → Delaware
But he has a strategy to save: Smith buys candy after Halloween when many stores slash prices.
asserted
stores → have → prices
Ari Monahan, a nanny who describes herself as “like a Disney adult, but for Halloween,” said she may get candy that’s a little less expensive, but she still wants to treat the kids in her New York City neighborhood.
uncertain
she → describe → neighborhood
“I want to be the good house,” she said.
asserted
she → want → ?
“There’s not that many kids in my area, so I want to give them a little prize for coming.”
asserted
I → ’ → prize
Monahan, 30, also buys little treats for herself.
asserted
Monahan → buy → herself
“Dark chocolate, a lot of coffees, anything pumpkin spice,” she said.
asserted
she → say → coffees
“If it makes me smile and I have a little money, I’ll pay for it because everything is so grim right now,” she added.
asserted
she → make → it
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
