Are you a Halloween candy loyalist? That’s someone who always buys the same candy every year. According to Instacart, around one in four of us are.
23% of Americans are candy loyalists. Two-thirds of them have been buying the same candy for at least five years, and 40% for more than a decade. Here are a few more stats on our Halloween candy habits, according to Instacart . . .
1. The best-selling candy last October was Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Peanut Butter Pumpkins. The rest of the top ten are Peanut M&M’s . . . regular M&M’s . . . Snickers . . . Hershey bars . . . Twizzlers . . . Kit Kats . . . Twix . . . Starburst . . . and Milky Ways.
2. There’s a major east-west divide when it comes to the top-selling candy in each state. In the eastern half of the U.S., it’s Peanut Butter Cups. Out west, it’s Peanut M&M’s. The only outliers are Peanut Butter Cups in Wyoming . . . and regular M&M’s in Hawaii and New Hampshire.
3. Chocolate candy is still the most popular. 84% of people who plan to buy candy will buy at least some chocolate this year.
4. 27% of people who give out candy base their buying on their own preferences more than what trick-or-treaters want. So if you love Charleston Chews you’re buying them. Disappointing all those kids doesn’t matter.
5. Our taste in candy changes. 63% of adults now love a type of candy they hated as a kid. Licorice and candy corn are the most common.
6. Twizzlers are more popular than Red Vines in 41 states. The nine states that like Red Vines more are all out west: Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Hawaii, and Alaska.
Also, Smarties are more popular than Sweet Tarts . . . Milk Duds beat Whoppers . . . and it’s a pretty even split between Blow Pops and Dum-Dums.
7. We’re only at the start of candy-buying season. Instacart data shows it should start to ramp up this week, and won’t peak until a day or two before Halloween. Same goes for costumes, pumpkins, and decorations.
8. Americans refuse to throw away leftover candy. 86% of people who end up with extra candy will keep eating it for up to six months.
