Americans are on track to spend a record $13.5 billion on Halloween this year, according to the National Retail Federation. The forecast comes as costs tied to the holiday keep rising, and the NRF expects spending to be $400 million higher than in 2025 and $1.9 billion higher than in 2024.
Candy alone is expected to account for $4.1 billion of that total. Cocoa prices have fallen from the record highs of 2024 and 2025 but remain elevated after surging over the past two years, and shipping and other expenses are adding to the cost of treats. A PwC poll found the average person expects to spend about $263, with parents often spending the most because they shop for multiple Halloween events. A recent WalletHub survey found that two-thirds of Americans believe Halloween has become too expensive.
Costume prices are being pushed up by transportation and fulfillment expenses, said Cortland Hickey, general manager of Chicago Costume, in comments to CBS News. "The tariff costs are pretty much baked into the products as opposed to being a surprise like they were last year," Hickey said. He pointed instead to fuel surcharges and diesel costs that affect products arriving on pallets and truckloads.
Shoppers who order online and wait until the last minute may pay more for rush shipping or risk a costume that arrives after Halloween. Online buying is slightly less popular this year, with 27% of consumers planning to shop that way, down from 31% in 2025, according to the NRF.
On the candy side, the Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute expects chocolate prices to be 8% higher than last Halloween. FinanceBuzz found that a 100-piece bag of assorted Halloween candy averages $16.96 in 2026, which is 3.5% more than last year and 71% more than in 2021. Mondelez, maker of Sour Patch Kids and Swedish Fish, raised prices on gummy candy packs by 39%, while Ferrero, whose brands include Butterfinger, Crunch and Baby Ruth, raised chocolate pack prices nearly 19%.
Economists say the increases reflect a lag in the cocoa market, because candy makers are still using cocoa bought during the price spikes of 2025. Most cocoa comes from Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa, where heat waves and heavy rains linked to climate change hurt crops in 2025 and contributed to shortages. Higher U.S. tariffs on cocoa-producing countries also played a role, though levies on cocoa and other commodities that cannot be grown in the U.S. were removed last November.
Some manufacturers have cut costs by swapping traditional milk chocolate ingredients for cheaper ones such as vegetable oil. Products that no longer qualify can be labeled "chocolate candy," "chocolatey" or "chocolate coating." Federal rules require milk chocolate to contain at least 10% cocoa mass and solids, so items like Butterfinger, Rolo and Almond Joy, which contain 2% or less cocoa, carry the "Chocolate Candy" label. After backlash over a recipe change earlier this year, Reese's said it will return to its original recipes in 2027.
Phil Lempert, editor of the Lempert Report, said shoppers can find better candy deals online, noting that ordering on Amazon "is going to be a lot less expensive." Comparing price per piece or per pound can also help, since some chocolate assortments cost nearly twice as much as bags of gummy candy. Hickey suggested skipping prepackaged costumes and focusing on items people are less likely to own or make, such as specific wigs, face paints, special makeup and props. About half of shoppers began buying in September or earlier to spread out costs, the NRF said.
Lempert expects the pressure to continue, citing climate change effects on cocoa and higher fuel prices, among other factors. "We're going to see these prices go up through 2027 and probably 2028," he said.
