Bulking season
But, modern day Halloween is about as far from rationing as our predecessors could possibly imagine — particularly for confectionery kings like Walmart, Costco, and Target, which dominate the October candy market every year. Although Walmart takes the top spot overall, it's Costco, the bulk-buy, big-box retailer, that sees the most significant bump in its candy share in October, as everyone stocks up on sweet treats on an almost-industrial scale.
Indeed, Costco’s October 2022 share of candy sales rose to 8.3% — nearly double its usual share (per Numerator). But, while Costco’s famous 150-piece bag of candy might be a favorite for appeasing trick-or-treaters, it may leave peanut-butter lovers disappointed. Last year, one Reddit user mapped out the distribution of the confectionery, finding — to their dismay — only 5 packets of Reese’s, or ~3% of the 10-variety bag. That’s a potential problem because PB cups are America’s favorite Halloween candy by some way, according to analysis by FiveThirtyEight.
