Halloween is the America’s second largest commercial holiday after Christmas, a retail opportunity estimated at $10.14 billion – a major increase from 15 years ago when spending totaled $4.8 billion.
The National Confectioners Association reported in 2021 that Americans spend $21 million on Halloween candies yearly second only to Christmas in total sales. Halloween is the Number 1 season for selling humorous greeting cards. In North America, some 25 million cards are sold annually.
This year 68% of people in the U.S. plan to celebrate the holiday and according to the National Retail Federation, will spend $102.74 on average. In 2021, 82% of US households with kids were planning to celebrate Halloween. This year, like last year, trick-or-treating is back on the agenda, and candy is still the most popular thing to buy for Halloween with 96% of celebrants picking some up for the big day.
Fully two-thirds of celebrants (67%) have plans to hand out candy this Halloween. They also found that 47% plan to wear a costume. That’s a large segment of the population that are actively looking for inspiration, products, and tutorials for their eerie night out.
Jack O’ Lanterns and Pies
453 million kg/ 1 billion pounds
In 2020, farmers in the top 6 pumpkin-producing States harvested more than 1 billion pounds of pumpkins combined. Leading in acreage and yield, Illinois produced 564 million pounds in 2020, as much as the other top 5 most productive States combined. California, Indiana, Texas, and Virginia each produced about 100 million pounds of pumpkins—while Michigan produced about 90 million pounds. Illinois remained the leading producer of pumpkins by acreage, with almost 80 percent of acres typically devoted to production for pie filling or other processing uses whereas California emerged in 2015 as the top pumpkin producer in terms of value of production.
Candy and Costumes
1,040
Number of U.S. manufacturing establishments that produced chocolate and cocoa products in 2021. These establishments employed 45,913 people and shipped $12 billion worth of goods that year. California led the nation in the number of chocolate and cocoa manufacturing establishments with 116, followed by Pennsylvania with 107.
616
Number of U.S. establishments that manufactured non-chocolate confectionery products in 2021. These establishments employed 26,400 people and shipped $7 billion worth of goods that year. California also led the nation in this category with 75 establishments.
10,6 kg
Per capita consumption of candy by Americans in 2003; it is believed a large portion of this is consumed by kids around Halloween. But candy consumption has actually declined over the last few years: in 1997, each American gobbled or savored more than 12.5 kg of the sweet stuff.
2,715
Number of formal wear and costume rental establishments across the nation in 2021. Trick-or-treaters rent, buy or invent the costumes they wear on Halloween.
Here is the most popular Halloween candy for adults, ranked:
M&Ms (original)
Reese's Peanut Butter Cup
Kit Kat
Peanut M&Ms
Butterfinger
Snickers
Twix
Milky Way
Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar
Reese's Pieces
