Halloween is approaching and many households are already stocking up on candy for trick-or-treaters — or themselves. Now Instacart is using these purchases to help track Halloween trends. The grocery delivery service has collected data on the most popular Halloween candy in each state and also determined how different communities compare when it comes to being all-in on trick-or treating.
Instacart launched a new tool that allows shoppers to enter their ZIP code to see their area’s “Scare Score” — or how much Halloween spirit they have. To determine the score, Instacart looked at the candy, costume and decor purchases in each ZIP code.
According to the company’s calculations, the community of Lehi, Utah, has the most Halloween spirit. Second place went to Dallas, Texas, followed by Houston in third. Shoppers in these areas have purchased more Halloween paraphernalia than others on Instacart.
Instacart
But what candy were they buying?
Instacart says every year, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, peanut M&M’s and regular M&M’s end up in the top three of their most popular candy list. In the month leading up to last Halloween, they tracked the top sellers by total weight sold, and these were the Top 10:
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
- Peanut M&M’s
- Regular M&M’s
- Tootsie Pops
- Twizzlers
- Hershey’s Milk Chocolate
- Sour Patch Kids
- Candy Corn
- KitKat
- Starburst
“Comparing this list of the top 10 Halloween candies to last year reveals some exciting changes,” said Instacart’s Trends Expert Laurentia Romaniuk. “We’ve got three newcomers: Tootsie Pops, Sour Patch Kids, and Candy Corn — two classics and a candy with a modern sour twist, which tells us there’s a delectable blend of nostalgia and contemporary flavors showing up in candy bowls,”
Tastes appear to vary in different states and regions.
Instacart crunched the numbers on which candy purchases exceeded the national average in specific locations, and found that Utah favored peanut M&Ms, like most of the Western U.S., while Texas was above average in purchases of Ferrero Rocher Hazelnut Chocolates.
Instacart
California shoppers bought a lot of Red Vines, while Illinois, New York and several other states preferred Twizlers. Floridians went for DumDum lollypops, Georgia bought more Trolli Gummi Candy, and Washington, D.C. shoppers favored Snickers, which did not make it on the Top 10.
Tootsie Pops popped in three states, while Tootsie Rolls are favored in Oklahoma. And shoppers in Hawaii bought a lot of Hi-Chews.
When analyzing how much candy was purchased per customer, Utah wins again, followed by Montana, Alaska, Idaho and Wyoming.
Customers in Hawaii, Washington, D.C., Maine, Florida and Alabama have bought the least amount of candy, according to Instacart.
