Halloween Candy: When to buy and what kids want

ATLANTA - It’s time to consider getting your Halloween candy, and there is a sweet spot for when to buy it. According to the shopping app Ibotta in a survey a few holidays ago, the best deals are four days before Halloween.

And that matters because chocolate prices are up, but here’s the good news in that wrapper: kids don’t want that sweet snack like their parents possibly did. They eat gummy snacks and fruity things. And prices for those treats are down. So if you stock up on that, you can become the "good candy" house.

The e-commerce site Pattern looked at last year’s candy sales. And here’s the top candies that kids like and how much their prices have dropped. Candy corn is 26% of the sweet tooth share, and prices are down 11% from last year. So if your little people like this striped, old-fashioned candy, it's the best deal. 

Skittles are next in popularity with 13% of the share, and prices are down a percent here as well. Jolly Ranchers comes in close at 11% and down 4% in cost. Now I would've thought gummy bears would've ranked higher, but they don't. Which may be good news for the wallet as prices, since, per Pattern, they are up a whopping 30%. Starbursts are lower in popularity coming in at 5%, but the cost is cut by 7%. So you might want to consider that.

You do need some chocolate, and the faves according to the survey were Tootsie Rolls, Reese’s, and Twix.