The Costs of Candy

The+Costs+of+Candy

Lex Drago, Reporter

Now that we are in October, Halloween is coming up soon! I am here to tell you about Halloween information in America and the popular spooky trick-or-treat candy of this year in 2022 for Illinois! 172 million people in the US celebrate this second most popular and fun holiday in which American citizens do all their shopping in the first two weeks of October. Mainly all these purchases will be made online. Among those people who are celebrating, 95% of people will actually buy sweets and spend $27.55 on average. More than 50% of parents will stash some Halloween candy to enjoy later in the year. In 2021, $10.1 billion overall was spent on Halloween. This year in 2022, $10.6 billion is expected to be hit for spending, this is a 5% increase. This is a new record of all time for money spending from 2005 to 2022. Costume buying is expected to reach $3.6 billion, while decorations are expected to get to $3.1 billion. Candy purchasing has made it to $3.1 billion which is more than last year at $3.0 billion. All of this information has come from National Retail Federation and CandyStore.Com.Now to the part about the top five most popular candies for Halloween in America. First place is Reeses’s Peanut Butter Cups led by Skittles in second, third place is M&M’s, then fourth place for Starburst, and last, fifth place goes to Hot Tamals. These are all followed up by Sour Patch Kids,
Hershey’s Kisses, Snickers, Tootsie Pops, and Candy Corn. Even though Candy Corn is up in the favorites, it’s also one of the most hated Halloween treats.Now for the state of Illinois, the top number one candy for this All Hallows Eve is Sour Patch Kids! Taking second place is Kit Kats, and third place is Starburst.
I’ve asked students from North about how they feel about $10.6 billion being expected to be spent this year for Halloween all together in the US, not just individually.Isaac Salinas replied, “It makes sense since people will spend a lot of money on candy, decorations, costumes, etc.”Natalia Ruiz said with shock, “Oh wow! That’s a lot of money!” I asked her what else she thought about it and she added, “I’m not sure, really.”Jazzy Lily happily told me, “That’s a lot of money but some people love Halloween and probably do haunted houses!” I asked a freshman who wants their name to be anonymously and responded with, “That’s a lot of money being spent during one month but the month is very fun! Sonic the Hedgehog costumes are definitely worth it.”