PHILADELPHIA — Spooky season is getting more expensive in Philadelphia and beyond, from rising pumpkin patch costs and higher employee wages at the local haunted house to an uptick on the price of chocolate.
But what’s even higher — following several years of dormant celebrations due to the coronavirus pandemic — is the price of missing out.
Nationwide trends show that Americans are spending more on all things Halloween this year, including costumes, candy and events. Data also show an uptick in participation, prompted in part by an impulse to catch up on things that weren’t possible during COVID-19 shutdowns.
Spending is up, too, returning to pre-pandemic levels for the first time.
The National Confectioners Association said it anticipated a 5 percent bump in Halloween candy prices this year, and according to the National Retail Federation, consumers are expected to spend an estimated $3.1 billion on Halloween candy.
Pennsylvania candy industry titan Hershey Co. — the maker of Halloween stalwarts Twizzlers, Reese’s, Kisses and KitKats — introduced overall price increases of 14 percent this summer. The company attributed “increased cost pressures.” A representative told the Los Angeles Times that Halloween candy was not explicitly targeted for price hikes.
Hershey’s CEO Michele Buck said the company won’t be able to produce enough Halloween-themed signature treats to keep up with demand this year. It’s just one piece of global supply chain shortages — sparked by a combination of factors including the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war — driving up the cost of ingredients while demand also rises.
A review of Target shopping circulars from October 2021 and October 2022 reveals that the price of a bag of Reese’s milk chocolate peanut butter snack-size pumpkins increased by a dollar to $5.99.
Scares more expensive
Halloween attractions, such as haunted houses and seasonal theme park celebrations, are seeing overall higher ticket prices. Sean Nyberg, an investor who has tracked rising ticket costs on his Twitter account, showed how prices for tickets for Disneyland’s annual Halloween celebration increased 19 percent since 2019.
Comcast-owned Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights ticket prices in its California and Florida locations jumped about 4 percent this year.
At Eastern State Penitentiary, the Philadelphia historic site and nonprofit that has hosted an annual Halloween Nights (known as Terror Behind the Walls until 2020) for 30 years, proceeds from the season support preservation efforts and annual operational costs.
Brett Bertolino, Eastern State Penitentiary’s vice president and director of operations, says Halloween Nights is the site’s largest source of revenue, so inflation and supply chain issues have forced the nonprofit to retool prices and expenses.
This year, the Eastern State’s special tours — such as the after-dark guide-led flashlight walking tour through the penitentiary’s hospital block — will cost $12 a person, up from $10, to cover the increased cost of the souvenir flashlights guests receive. Still, he says, the nonprofit organization was committed to keeping the admission price of Halloween Nights (starting at $34) the same.
Here’s how the venue’s regular admissions prices have changed over the years for its Halloween event:
The director of operations said the nonprofit raised employees’ base pay to $15 an hour and offered new incentives, including complimentary massages to counteract the “physical demands” that come with working Halloween Nights.
Bertolino added that the Eastern State Penitentiary staff needed to get creative to cover the increased expenses without passing the cost along to visitors. He said building materials that were purchased in 2019 and unused because of the pandemic have been repurposed. In addition, the penitentiary increased its ticket capacity. Last year, Halloween Nights operated with smaller capacities to better accommodate social distancing.
“At the end of this season, we expect that our gross revenue will surpass last year’s, but that our net income will be about the same,” Bertolino said. “Given we didn’t increase ticket prices, we feel good about that outcome. And we hope our visitors feel good, too, knowing that their money goes to a good cause.”
Throughout the Northeast, reports show that pumpkin farms are battling higher costs.
Matthew Critz, owner of Critz Farms in upstate New York, told CNYCentral that the price of pumpkin seeds increased by 10 percent while the price of fertilizer doubled. An uncharacteristic weekslong stint without rain coupled with high heat also made for smaller pumpkins.
“I don’t like to raise the prices, and I try not to raise them very often, but we did raise them,” Critz said.
According to data from Statista, the average price of a pumpkin nationally has fluctuated over the last four Halloweens from $3.89 to $4.83. The average price per pound of pumpkins for consumers is $1.38, the USDA says.
Even your pumpkin spice latte costs more. Starbucks’ infamous drink returned with a roughly 4 percent cost increase for its grande size.
National Retail Federation data show that Halloween participation is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels. A reported 69 percent of consumers anticipate celebrating the holiday, up 4 percentage points from last year. Total spending for the holiday is expected to reach a record $10.6 billion.
The top ways consumers plan to celebrate are:
- Handing out candy (67 percent)
- Decorating a home or yard (51 percent)
- Dressing up in costume (47 percent)
- Carving a pumpkin (44 percent)
- Hosting or attending a Halloween party (28 percent)
Reports show that consumers plan to spend $100 on average for Halloween candy, decor, costumes and more.
Still, the concept of FOMO (fear of missing out) could be contributing to the increase.
Katherine Cullen, the National Retail Federation’s senior director of industry and consumer insights, told the Los Angeles Times that the increase is a rebound effect from being stuck inside throughout the pandemic, coupled with young people feeling a need to post on social media documenting their experiences.
For that reason, she says, young adults are expected to participate more in Halloween events this year.
Several university research labs are studying correlations between FOMO and the pandemic. At New Jersey’s Montclair State University, the school’s Center for Strategic Communication released a report that ties the post-pandemic impulse to an increased interest in pumpkin spice.
“Consumers are acutely focused on attempting to ‘catch up’ with what was missed,” because they were denied opportunities during the pandemic, the report found.
