万圣节糖果销量同比下滑6.7%：五年涨价44%，高油价与贵巧克力压住美国人的手
据美联社10月24日报道，美国今年的万圣节糖果销售开局疲软。市场研究公司 NielsenIQ 的数据显示，截至10月17日的一个月里，美国糖果销量同比下降6.7%；9月中旬销量曾下降11.7%，抹去了此前两年万圣节季前累积的涨幅。
价格与生活成本是主因。美国政府数据显示，截至9月，糖果与口香糖价格在五年间累计上涨44%，同期家庭食品价格涨幅为22.5%。NielsenIQ 副总裁 Chris Costagli 对美联社表示，截至周五，全美普通汽油平均价格为每加仑4.29美元，同比上涨近40%；消费者在燃油、住房、服装与食品上多花的钱，挤压了万圣节糖果的预算。他说，一些消费者的决定「不是因为注意到糖果比去年贵，而是今年实在买不起了」。折扣超市 Aldi 本周促销的一款135件装 Mars 巧克力组合售价19.87美元——几乎与五年前一款250件装组合的价格相同。
巧克力贵，源头在可可。据美国劳工统计局（BLS）数据，全球可可价格2025年1月创下每公吨10,710美元的历史纪录，西非供应全球约70%的巧克力原料，当地恶劣天气与可可期货投机共同推高了价格；可可价此后回落，3月降至每公吨3,241美元，但春季起又因伊朗战争扰乱非洲化肥供应、厄尔尼诺带来的干热天气预期再度攀升。降价也救不了销量：NielsenIQ 数据显示，软糖、棒棒糖等非巧克力万圣节糖果在截至10月17日的九周里平均每磅6.08美元、同比降约3%，销量却未见回升。
消费者正在改买小包装：NielsenIQ 称，截至10月中旬，只有小袋装糖果销量保持增长，大袋与特大袋跌幅最大。市场研究公司 Circana 的食品业顾问 Sally Lyons Wyatt 对美联社表示，消费者如今买东西更精打细算、少量多次、临近使用时才购买，万圣节前最后一周的购买时点可能后移；她预计糖果销售整体仍将疲软，但「万圣节不会完」。全国零售联合会（NRF）预计，今年美国人万圣节糖果支出为41亿美元，万圣节总支出将达135亿美元，高于2025年的131亿美元。代表 Mars、Smarties Candy Co. 与 Ferrara Candy Co. 等糖果商的全国糖果协会（NCA）周五向美联社发表声明称，万圣节旺季高峰刚刚到来，「消费者热情依然非常高涨」。
关联：万圣节前查一遍糖果袋：FDA食品安全提示汇总包装查验、过敏原标签与窒息隐患三要点
Halloween Candy Sales Fall 6.7% as Five-Year 44% Price Rise, Gas Costs and Pricey Chocolate Pinch U.S. Shoppers
Halloween candy sales are off to a slow start in the United States this year, the Associated Press reported on October 24. Data from market research firm NielsenIQ show candy sales fell 6.7% in the month ending October 17 from the same period last year; a 11.7% decline in mid-September erased the preseason gains of the previous two years.
Prices and the cost of living are the main culprits. U.S. government data show candy and gum prices were up 44% over five years as of September, against a 22.5% rise in prices for food eaten at home over the same period. Chris Costagli, a vice president at NielsenIQ, told the AP that the average U.S. price of a gallon of regular gasoline stood at $4.29 as of Friday, up nearly 40% from a year earlier, and that money spent on fuel, housing, clothing and food is squeezing Halloween budgets: some shoppers, he said, are not skipping candy because they noticed it costs more, but because they simply cannot afford it this year. Discount grocer Aldi this week advertised a 135-piece Mars variety pack for $19.87 — almost the same price consumers paid for a 250-piece pack five years ago.
Chocolate traces back to cocoa. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, global cocoa prices hit a record $10,710 per metric ton in January 2025, driven by poor weather in West Africa, which supplies about 70% of the world's chocolate, and speculative trading; prices later fell to $3,241 per metric ton in March, then began climbing again in the spring as the Iran war disrupted Africa's fertilizer supplies and the El Niño pattern raised forecasts of hot, dry weather through February. Cheaper candy did not sell better either: non-chocolate Halloween candy such as gummies and lollipops averaged $6.08 per pound in the nine weeks ending October 17, about 3% below last year, with no bump in sales, NielsenIQ data show.
Shoppers are downsizing instead: small bags were the only package size with sales growth through mid-October, while large and extra-large bags saw the steepest declines. Sally Lyons Wyatt, a food industry adviser at Circana, told the AP that consumers are shopping more deliberately, making smaller, more frequent trips and buying closer to when they plan to use products; she expects candy sales to remain soft overall but said Halloween is not doomed. The National Retail Federation expects Americans to spend $4.1 billion on Halloween candy this year, with overall Halloween spending projected at $13.5 billion, up from $13.1 billion in 2025. The National Confectioners Association, which represents makers including Mars, Smarties Candy Co. and Ferrara Candy Co., said in a statement to the AP on Friday that the peak of the season is just arriving and consumer enthusiasm remains incredibly strong.
Related: 万圣节前查一遍糖果袋：FDA食品安全提示汇总包装查验、过敏原标签与窒息隐患三要点
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：图：南瓜造型糖果碗中装满待发给讨糖儿童的万圣节糖果（资料照片，2025年10月31日摄于日本三泽空军基地）。照片：美国空军 Jessel Fabara 摄，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / File photo: A pumpkin bowl of Halloween candy for trick-or-treaters at Misawa Air Base, Japan, October 31, 2025. Photo by Jessel Fabara, U.S. Air Force, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
