Instacart’s Halloween Trick-or-Treat Trends

As the leaves turn and eerie decor starts to line the streets, one thing is as clear as a crystal ball: Halloween is just around the corner. As the spooky season rolls in, so does the demand for sugary treats, costumes, and decor. 

To understand the sweet confections people are enjoying and how they’re enjoying them, Instacart calculated the share of grocery orders containing candy in October 2023 and commissioned an online survey conducted by The Harris Poll of more than 2,000 Americans. The following report features insights about the top candy picks state-by-state, what’s uniquely popular in different regions, how many people plan to trick-or-treat and pass out candy this year, and much more. 

Let’s unwrap the treats and trends that make Halloween a candy lover’s favorite holiday!

Halloween Hype

According to our survey, more than 3 in 4 Americans (76%) like to celebrate Halloween, with 1 in 4 (25%) saying Halloween is their favorite holiday.

And with Halloween, comes candy, costumes, and trick-or-treating! According to our survey, this year…

• Half of Americans (50%) plan to eat Halloween candy
• Nearly half of Americans (46%) plan to pass out Halloween candy to trick-or-treaters 
• 31% of Americans plan to dress up in a costume
• 23% of Americans will venture out trick-or-treating 

When does the Halloween hype begin? One in 3 Americans (33%) start getting in the Halloween spirit before October, while 38% do so at the beginning to mid-October, and 13% say they don’t get into the spirit until the week of Halloween. 

Our purchase data confirms October 31 is the most popular day for ordering candy, which makes sense considering Instacart’s super fast delivery is a convenient option for last-minute candy stock-ups. While candy sales saw small spikes throughout the month, 21% of orders on October 31, 2023 included candy.

Top Candies That Trick-or-Treaters Crave

There’s no doubt that classic candies reign supreme during Halloween. Here’s the leaderboard of the top 10 candies, which skews heavily towards chocolate/peanut/peanut butter candies with only two sour and fruity confections making the list.

Now that we know which candies are likely to be passed out, let’s talk about candy sizes – fun-size, full-size, and king-size. Our survey found that among Americans who plan to pass out candy to trick-or-treaters or eat Halloween candy:

• 83% plan to purchase fun-size candies in a variety pack
• 36% will purchase full-size candies
• 22% will splurge for king-size candies – wow!

Top Sweets by State

When it comes to the most popular candy purchased in every state, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups dominated the map, claiming the top spot in a jaw-dropping 40 states, including California, Texas, and New York. Peanut M&M’s made a notable splash in Hawaii, Idaho, and Utah, while M&M’s were a favorite in north western and mid-western states like Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

States & Their Unique Favorites

Each state has its unique quirks, and candy is no exception! These were the candies purchased the most in every state compared to the national average.

Some King-Size Callouts:

• Florida’s obsession with Milky Way Dark was a whopping 248% over the national average.
• Missouri rolled with Tootsie Rolls, with the candy showing up in carts 166% more often than the national average.
• New York was fond of Ferrero Rocher Hazelnut Chocolates – purchasing the luxurious chocolates 141% more often.
• Maine’s love for the highly-debated Candy Corn shined brightly with purchases 138% than the national average. New Hampshire was close behind with orders for Candy Corn 110% higher than average.
• North Carolina and Georgia were big on Nerds, with purchases 120% and 111% higher than the national average.

Sweet Toothed States: The Highs & Lows

The biggest sweet tooths: These were the top 5 states that bought the most Halloween candy, based on the share of orders that contained candy:

1. Utah
2. Oregon
3. Nebraska
4. Montana
5. Idaho

The not-so-sweet tooths: Here were the bottom 5 states that bought the least Halloween candy, based on the share of orders that contained candy:

1. Hawaii
2. Florida
3. Washington, D.C.
4. California
5. Georgia

Instacart’s Scare Score: Mapping Out Halloween’s Spookiest Spots

For the second year in a row, we’re sharing a tool that lets you enter your zip code to discover your area’s Scare Score. This score, determined by analyzing candy, costume, and decor purchases via Instacart, rates your community’s Halloween spirit — and shows the top candies in your zip code. 

With this unique metric, we calculated this year’s Halloween’s Best Haunts, a list of the top 10 zip codes boasting the highest Scare Scores, a.k.a the places guaranteeing a top-notch trick-or-treating experience. 

From Draper, Utah to San Jose, California, here’s a look at the communities with the highest Scare Scores.

We have a scary good deal for Instacart newbies! As a new customer based in the areas with the highest Scare Scores*, you’ll get $20 off your first order of $50 when you shop Instacart between October 28 – 31. No, it’s not a trick! Simply enter the promo code SCARESCORE20 at checkout.

*Promotion redeemable in the following nearby cities: Salt Lake City, UT; New York City, NY; Detroit, MI; Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA; Austin, TX; San Francisco, CA

Trick-or-Treat Tourism: According to our survey, nearly 3 in 4 Americans who plan to go trick-or-treating this Halloween (74%) will do so in their own neighborhood, while more than half (55%) say they will venture to other neighborhoods – either within their city/town (44%) or outside of their city/town (22%).

Ding-Dong!: Among those who plan to pass out candy to trick-or-treaters, 61% expect 25 or more trick-or-treaters, 29% expect 50 or more, and 13% expect 100 or more trick-or-treaters this Halloween. It seems most of them plan to be plenty prepared with their candy stock, as 89% expect to have leftover candy at the end of the night and 16% expect to have a lot of candy leftover.

Seasonal Favorites: October’s Top Picks

While candy gets all the limelight for Halloween, other seasonal purchases stand out in October. The following items were purchased more during the week ending on Halloween compared to the rest of 2023:

• Pumpkins took center stage and were purchased 1,133% more often than the rest of the year.
• Halloween decor was purchased 1,400% more often.
• Variety Pack Candies were purchased 886% more often, with record-breaking purchase days on October 30 and 31.

Meanwhile, different varieties of squash, pumpkin bread, and Halloween costumes from retailers like Spirit Halloween all popped significantly throughout the month.

With costume purchases spiking in 2023, we wanted to know how many people are planning to dress up this year and which costumes will be the most popular. ➡️ Our survey found that more than 3 in 10 Americans (31%) plan to dress up for Halloween, and among those who do, horror-themed (32%), spooky (31%), unique (30%) and funny (30%) top the list for costume descriptions.

Happy Halloween!

Regardless of how you’re planning to spend Halloween, Instacart has the goods for everyone – whether you’re planning to host a Halloween bash, enjoy a scary movie night on the couch, pass out candy, or go door-to-door for trick-or-treating shenanigans. You can easily make Instacart your one-stop shop for candy, costumes, and decor with delivery in as fast as 30 minutes. 

We wish you a hauntingly delightful holiday! 🎃👻🍬

Survey Method: This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Instacart from September 3-5, 2024, among 2,092 adults ages 18 and older. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval.  For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact [email protected]. 

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Author

Instacart is the leading grocery technology company in North America, partnering with more than 1,400 national, regional, and local retail banners to deliver from more than 80,000 stores across more than 14,000 cities in North America. To read more Instacart posts, you can browse the company blog or search by keyword using the search bar at the top of the page.