Americans plan to consume less this Halloween, but most still plan to celebrate the holiday.
“Eight in 10 Americans (80%) plan to purchase Halloween-related merchandise, down from 90% last year, and those celebrating are expected to spend an average of $162, down 16% from $192 in 2025,” according to the Lending Tree survey.
In this case, people might not just toss Halloween candy into their shopping carts without considering the price.
But according to a survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF), 61% of U.S. households plan to hand out Halloween candy.
The NRF did find that consumers “remain cost-conscious and take a strategic approach to Halloween shopping.”
As part of this, people are planning ahead.
“Nearly a third (31%) of people say they will compare items if Halloween items are more expensive than expected, while 26% say they will look for coupons or sales,” the data shows.
To help make that happen, TheStreet’s co-editor-in-chief Daniel Kline and senior editor Celine Provini visited South Florida Publix, Target and Walmart stores in the same neighborhoods to check out candy prices for the popular trick-or-treat candy.
They also went to Dollar General and Dollar Tree to see if the discount chains offered viable options for people who wanted to hand out candy while still saving money.
A comparison of the most popular Halloween trick-or-treating games
Our comparison is limited to popular candies sold in tamper-proof, separate “fun-sized” sections that are often associated with trick-or-treating.
As you can see below, Walmart is the clear price leader, while Target has a slightly wider selection. There are some glaring gaps in Publix’s selection, such as a surprising lack of single-serve M&Ms.
While the items in the chart are generally more expensive at Publix, the grocer does offer two great buy-one-get-one (BOGO) deals that let you hand out decent candy (albeit less popular varieties) at rock-bottom prices:
- butterfly finger Total weight: 19.8 ounces Fun-sized chocolate bars (about 30 bars per bag, or two bags totaling 60 bars, for $11.59, which works out to 19 cents each)
- 100 grand Total weight: 18.7 ounces Fun-sized chocolate bars (about 25 bars per bag, or two bags of 50 bars total, priced at $11.59, or 23 cents each)
It’s worth noting that options and prices may vary by location. Pricing shown above reflects shopping at five locations over approximately two hours.
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The dollar store has little to offer
If you want cheap Halloween decorations, Dollar General and Dollar Tree are both great options. They each have some low-cost (and low-quality) costume options, but neither has much in the way of candy for trick-or-treating.
Dollar General and Dollar Tree had limited candy selections that met our criteria, and we didn’t see anything better value in either store than the candies offered at Walmart, Target, and Publix.
There’s one exception, though: Dollar General offers a total capacity of 19.5 ounces. About 26 snack-sized Reese’s cups cost $9.50, or about 37 cents each, which is actually slightly less than a similar set sold by Publix, which sells for 42 cents a cup.
Buy Halloween Candy Where You Shop
All five stores we visited were on the same road, within two miles of each other. Broadly speaking, if you’re already planning on visiting a location, the price difference between Walmart and Target isn’t big enough to justify a separate trip.
However, the higher prices and fewer selections at Publix may make it worth it to buy your candy elsewhere. However, if you’re willing to make some substitutions and accept the BOGO offer, grocery store chains are a viable option.
Even with tight budgets, Halloween remains a major spending occasion for U.S. consumers, the NRF said.
“The top holiday shopping categories remain largely consistent with last year,” the NRF said. “Candy remains the most popular purchase, with 96% of consumers planning to purchase it, spending $4.1 billion. Decorations follow closely at 78% and $4.3 billion, respectively, while 71% of shoppers expect to spend $4.4 billion on apparel.”
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