Want a scare? Check out prices in the candy aisle as NJ confronts Halloween inflation
CLIFTON — Gina Vitarelli was bewildered as she emerged from the Spirit Halloween store along Bloomfield Avenue.
Everything seemed to cost more this year, the Carlstadt resident said outside the costume shop. This Halloween season she's making due with fewer decorations, using off-brand costumes and skipping a party.
“A lot of stuff has almost doubled,” she said. “I mean the candy alone blew me away — what are we going to give out?”
For New Jersey consumers, spooky season comes with fewer treats and more tricks at the checkout counter this fall. The cost of candy, costumes and other items is up, victimized by the same supply-chain shortages and inflationary pressures that have infected the rest of the global economy.
Nationwide, the price of candy was upabout 13% in September compared with a year earlier, according to figures from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Datasembly, a research firm that tracks consumer prices, found one of the sharpest increases among grocery items in the candy aisle.
While there's no data on Halloween costumes in particular, the cost for apparel and clothing rose 2.2% between September 2021 and last month, according to federal statistics. That includes a 5.5% jump over the summer.
Brad Weston, CEO of retail chain Party City, based in Woodcliff Lake, cautioned in a July statement to investors that “we continue to expect the supply chain volatility and inflationary pressures to persist” for the rest of 2022.
How much that scares off shoppers remains to be seen. A report released Monday by personal finance website WalletHub said 80% of Americans plan to spend less this Halloween. Yet the National Retail Federation says spending for the holiday is expected to finally rebound to pre-pandemic levels this season.
Americans are expected to spend $3.6 billion on costumes, $3.4 billion on decorations, $3.1 billion on candy and $600 million on greeting cards for Halloween this year, the trade group said in a recent survey.
Enough people “want to get away from the gloom” of the pandemic that they may be willing to grit their teeth and pay up, said Jim Hughes, dean emeritus of Rutgers' Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. “It looks like this is sort of a post-pandemic expression of wanting to get back to normal,” Hughes said in a phone interview.
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Nestlé, the Swiss candy company that owns brands like Nestlé Crunch and KitKat outside of the U.S, said last week that price increases helped push up its revenue 8.5% in the first nine months of 2022, excluding acquisitions and global currency fluctuations. But candy companies say they have also seen sales volumes fall as consumers confront the higher prices.
“The challenging economic environment is a concern for many people and is impacting their purchasing power,” Nestlé CEO Mike Schneider said in a statement.
Likewise, Mondelez, the East Hanover-based snack company whose products include Sour Patch Kids, Toblerone chocolates and Trident gum, has also resorted to price increases.
"We have and will continue to take action to navigate some of the near-term dynamics around the inflation and supply chain ," Mondelez Chief Financial Officer Luca Zaramella said during a July earnings call. The company said revenue rose 13.1% in this year's second quarter, driven in part by price hikes.
Mondelez and fellow candy manufacturer Mars didn't return calls seeking comment this week.
Shoppers "may have to find ways to offset the increases,” said Monmouth University economist Robert Scott. “But the overall impact on people’s celebrations will remain unchanged.”
“Halloween tends to be a communal holiday where neighborhoods share and celebrate. Not everyone participates, but those who do find it rewarding and fun. Those people won’t be scared away by inflation.”
Correction: A previous version of this story inaccurately described the items on sale at Spirit Halloween.
Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record.
Email: munozd@northjersey.com; Twitter: @danielmunoz100
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Candy, costume prices rise in NJ amid Halloween 2022 inflation
