E021 – Data Deep Dive – Halloween Spending and Candy

Just in time for Halloween this year, we take a look at the way people will spend their money on Candy and other goods during this spooky time.

Spending

People in the US are expected to spend $9.1 billion on Halloween this year, according to a study by the National Retail Federation.

Several predictions about this year’s Halloween season include:

U.S. consumers are projected to drop $82.93 on average, up almost 12 percent from $74.34 last year.
More than 171 million consumers are expected take part in Halloween festivities.
Adults ages 18-34 are projected to spend on average $42.39, compared with $31.03 for all adults.

According to the survey, consumers plan to spend:

$3.4 billion on costumes (purchased by 69 percent of Halloween shoppers),
$2.7 billion on candy (95 percent),
another $2.7 billion on decorations (72 percent)
and $410 million on greeting cards (37 percent).

Among Halloween celebrants:

71 percent plan to hand out candy,
49 percent will decorate their home or yard,
48 percent will wear costumes,
46 percent will carve a pumpkin,
35 percent will throw or attend a party,
31 percent will take their children trick-or-treating,
23 percent will visit a haunted house and 16 percent will dress pets in costumes.

Top Costumes

More than 3.7 million children plan to dress as their favorite action character or superhero, 2.9 million as Batman characters and another 2.9 million as their favorite princess while 2.2 million will dress as a cat, dog, monkey or other animal.

Proving that Halloween isn’t just for kids, a record number of adults (48 percent) plan to dress in costume this year. More than 5.8 million adults plan to dress like a witch, 3.2 million as their favorite Batman character, 3 million as an animal (cat, dog, cow, etc.), and 2.8 million as a pirate.

Pets won’t be left behind when it comes to dressing up for Halloween. Ten percent of pet lovers will dress their animal in a pumpkin costume, while 7 percent will dress their cat or dog as a hot dog and 4 percent as a dog, lion or pirate.

Candy

CandyStore.com released data from 10 years of bulk candy online sales that show favorite candies by state.

STATE	TOP CANDY	POUNDS	2ND PLACE	POUNDS	3RD PLACE	POUNDS
TX	Starburst	1952361	Reese’s Cups	1927663	Almond Joy	837525

STATE	TOP CANDY	POUNDS	2ND PLACE	POUNDS	3RD PLACE	POUNDS
AL	Candy Corn	55274	Hershey’s Mini Bars	54369	Tootsie Pops	42533
AK	Twix	4678	Blow Pops	4578	Kit Kat	3892
AZ	Snickers	904633	Hershey Kisses	817463	Hot Tamales	527843
AR	Jolly Ranchers	225990	Butterfinger	215897	Hot Tamales	89027
CA	M&M’s	1548990	Salt Water Taffy	1345782	Skittles	1034527
CO	Milky Way	5620	Twix	5478	Hershey Kisses	4087
CT	Almond Joy	2457	Milky Way	1985	M&M’s	1023
DE	Life Savers	20748	Skittles	18072	Candy Corn	10217
FL	Skittles	630938	Snickers	587385	Reese’s Cups	224637
GA	Swedish Fish	130647	Hershey Kisses	109672	Jolly Ranchers	55049
HI	Skittles	267872	Hershey Kisses	264728	Milky Way	139874
ID	Candy Corn	85903	Starburst	60826	Reese’s Cups	39847
IL	Sour Patch Kids	155782	Kit Kat	151786	Reese’s Cups	95627
IN	Hot Tamales	95092	Starburst	78920	Snickers	34589
IA	Reese’s Cups	58974	M&M’s	53982	Butterfinger	25782
KS	Reese’s Cups	231476	M&M’s	230082	Dubble Bubble Gum	159092
KY	Tootsie Pops	67829	3 Musketeers	60273	Reese’s Cups	30865
LA	Lemonheads	102833	Reese’s Cups	89738	Jolly Ranchers	45092
ME	Sour Patch Kids	58290	M&M’s	45938	Starburst	16782
MD	Milky Way	38782	Reese’s Cups	30748	Blow Pops	12093
MA	Sour Patch Kids	75638	Butterfinger	73892	Salt Water Taffy	45982
MI	Candy Corn	146782	Skittles	135982	Starburst	87740
MN	Tootsie Pops	195783	Skittles	194672	Almond Joy	98726
MS	3 Musketeers	109783	Snickers	103993	Butterfinger	57829
MO	Milky Way	42739	Dubble Bubble Gum	34751	Butterfinger	24780
MT	Dubble Bubble Gum	24675	M&M’s	14673	Twix	13784
NE	Sour Patch Kids	106728	Salt Water Taffy	78624	M&M’s	23674
NV	Hershey Kisses	322884	Candy Corn	203746	Skittles	167837
NH	Snickers	63876	Starburst	62468	Salt Water Taffy	25987
NJ	Skittles	159324	Tootsie Pops	157893	M&M’s	110673
NM	Candy Corn	83562	Milky Way	65682	Jolly Ranchers	45721
NY	Sour Patch Kids	200008	Candy Corn	101292	Reese’s Cups	56776
NC	M&Ms	96110	Reese’s Cups	95763	Candy Corn	62308
ND	Hot Tamales	65782	Jolly Ranchers	61829	Candy Corn	51827
OH	Blow Pops	150324	M&M’s	146782	Starburst	105752
OK	Snickers	20938	Dubble Bubble Gum	10283	Butterfinger	8892
OR	Reese’s Cups	90826	M&M’s	67626	Tootsie Pops	42774
PA	M&M’s	290762	Skittles	281847	Hershey’s Mini Bars	150372
RI	Candy Corn	17862	M&M’s	13894	Twix	9003
SC	Candy Corn	114783	Skittles	98782	Hot Tamales	41892
SD	Starburst	24783	Jolly Ranchers	22983	Candy Corn	7827
TN	Tootsie Pops	59837	Salt Water Taffy	34859	Skittles	20938
TX	Starburst	1952361	Reese’s Cups	1927663	Almond Joy	837525
UT	Jolly Ranchers	475221	Reese’s Cups	29823	Tootsie Pops	198564
VT	Milky Way	29837	M&M’s	27811	Skittles	17662
VA	Snickers	26783	Hot Tamales	26178	Candy Corn	18726
WA	Tootsie Pops	223850	Salt Water Taffy	210981	Hershey Kisses	78662
DC	M&M’s	26092	Tootsie Pops	21364	Blow Pops	14763
WV	Blow Pops	43776	Hershey’s Mini Bars	23554	Milky Way	18911
WI	Starburst	116788	Butterfinger	115982	Jolly Ranchers	42998
WY	Reese’s Cups	32889	Salt Water Taffy	26555	Skittles	20812

FiveThirtyEight took a different approach by analyzing data from 269,000 head-to-head matchups between candies. Their findings:

Reese’s took 4 of the top 10 spots!

They boiled it down into the following elements:

Music

In This Creepy, Sleepy Backward Town by Squire Tuck via Free Music Archive

Sources

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