1014 people were asked about their Halloween shopping plans, in a consumer survey conducted by consumer insights company Numerator.
Halloween is looking to be the most ‘normal’ holiday of 2022, Numerator reports, as concerns about inflation and Covid are at their lowest. However, 2 in 5 consumers surveyed expect inflation to impact their Halloween plans, while 18% expect impacts from Covid. As a result, spending is expected to be around $25-$50 on Halloween, 25% report, while only 5% will spend more than $200. compared with last year’s figures, 24% are spending less this Halloween.
The purchasing of Halloween costumes is expected to take a hit, as 29% of those surveyed said they plan to cut back on spending as a consequence of inflation; and 28% plan to cut back spending on candy.
Numerator suggests that this could be a consequence of inflation and Covid, despite low concerns, as there are fewer consumers who plan to partake in festivities compared with previous years. 54% plan to hand out candy compared with 63% in past years, 33% plan to go trick-or-treating while this was 48%; and only 9% plan to hand out non-candy treats in comparison with 14%.
Most households will offer up chocolate, and almost 2 in 3 will offer non-chocolate items. Because of inflation, 3 in 10 will trade down on brands. 82% will buy chocolate, while of the non-chocolate candy, 38% will buy lollipops, 35% will buy gummies, 32% hard candy, 29% sour candy and 6% will buy healthy alternatives.
For those celebrating the holiday, results from the survey show that households are willing to pay ‘Halloween fare’: topping the list, nearly 3 in 4 households plan to buy candy, while 45% will buy holiday decorations and 38% will buy snacks. Heavy candy consumers are 22% more likely to plan on purchasing costumes.
Opportunities this Halloween lie with mass retailers, as most shoppers plan to make their trips to buy in-store – a whopping 84% – but nearly a third of shoppers (32%) expect to shop online, too. Of those planning to shop online, over 4 in 5 (85%) plan to shop Amazon and half expect to do their shopping on Walmart.com.
Finding cheaper brands will be a priority this year for shoppers, according to the report, as store shifting, coupons and online shopping will be secondary sales to save. Heavy candy shoppers are 43% more likely to rely on store brands compared with light shopper. Additionally, 69% of heavy candy shoppers will buy items on sale, 40% will visit discount stores and 37% will use more coupons.
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Editor, International Confectionery
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