Instacart reveals top candy cravings and other Halloween trends

We’re officially in fall, and that means that Halloween is just over a month away. To understand the sweet confections people are enjoying and how they’re enjoying them this upcoming Halloween season, 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 grocery delivery company’s 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.

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

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

Instacart’s purchase data confirms that Halloween (Oct. 31) is the most popular day for ordering candy. While candy sales spiked throughout the month, 21 percent of orders on October 31, 2023 included candy.

Classic candies reign supreme during Halloween. The top ten skews heavily towards chocolate/peanut/peanut butter candies, with only two sour and fruity confections making the list.

Source: Instacart

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

More data from Instacart’s survey can be found here.

For the second year in a row, Instacart is launching a Halloween microsite that showcases the top ten zip codes for trick-or-treating based on its proprietary Scare Score — a metric that measures Halloween spirit in every zip code based on Halloween candy, costume and decor purchases via Instacart.