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The price of sweets could get scary this Halloween as revelers prepare to spend billions of dollars on candy and other goodies to hand out to trick-or-treaters across the country. The jump in prices is another illustration of the ways inflation is impacting Americans.
Inflation hit a four-decade high last year on the back of a jump in consumer spending following the re-opening of the economy post-COVID. Snarled supply chains also contributed to a jump in prices as they led to delays in the delivery of goods at a time of heightened demand. The Federal Reserve hiked rates in response and has managed to bring down prices to 3.7 percent. That's still almost double the Fed's target of 2 percent.
The impact of elevated prices is felt in a number of home food products. The US Department of Agriculture said last week that sugar and sweets prices are expected to keep rising in 2023 and are predicted to jump 9.4 percent for the year.
This is significant for an industry that was worth nearly $14 billion in 2022. Americans are expected to spend $2 billion more for Halloween in 2023, reaching a record $12 billion, compared to last year, according to the National Retail Federation.
The record anticipated spending for the holiday is largely due to the fact that sugar and sweets have seen prices soar by nearly 187 percent over the last 40 years. Pre-COVID to now, the cost of the products has jumped by more than $5, with an average inflation rate of more than 6 percent.
"This rate of change indicates significant inflation," the Bureau of Labor Statistics points out. "In other words, sugar and sweets costing $20 in the year 2019 would cost $25.36 in 2023 for an equivalent purchase. Compared to the overall inflation rate of 4.37% during this same period, inflation for sugar and sweets was higher."
Spending for candy in 2023 during Halloween is projected to be $3.6 billion, according to the lender Capital One, and is the most popular purchase of the season. But the rise in price of sweets may be forcing households to cut back on their spending on candy.
"At one time, candy expenses consumed the largest portion of Halloween budgets; since 2018, candy has been the third-largest Halloween budget portion," Capital One research revealed. "American households each budgeted $0.89 less on Halloween candy than they did in 2021," a nearly 3 percent decline from a year ago.
This suggests that children stepping up to doorsteps this Halloween season could come away with less candy than in years past.
About the writer
Omar Mohammed is a Newsweek reporter based in the Greater Boston area. His focus is reporting on the Economy and ... Read more