Sweet, spicy, and a little spooky: Halloween shopping trends projected from DoorDash data

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Early decorator or last-minute scrambler, Halloween is the one night when candy corn earns a seat at the table, trading chocolates counts as currency, and eating 10 pieces of candy before dinner is judgment-free. This year, DoorDash dug into Halloween trends from 2025 for a sneak peek at what could haunt and delight us again this season, and a few numbers were downright spooky (raisins, we're looking at you).

2026's Top Candy, Nationally

Consider the debate over. DoorDash uncovered the definitive top 10 Halloween candies by order volume last Halloween.

Reese's held onto the top spot for a third year in a row, and chocolate still takes four of the top five spots overall, but sour and fruity candy, including Nerds, Skittles and Sour Patch Kids, is fighting back, and Airheads jumped from last year's tenth place to seventh. The biggest shakeup was Haribo, which cracked the top 10 for the first time and knocked Twix out.

But climbing into the top 10 wasn't enough. In the last three months, Haribo has already passed Nerds, the No. 5 candy nationally, in total orders. It's officially the candy to watch this year: adorable, wrapper-free, chewy, and dangerously easy to finish a whole bag in one sitting.

The Sweet Tooth of the States

Order volume shows what wins nationally, not what a state loves more than everyone else. So DoorDash looked at which candy each state orders at a higher rate than the rest of the country, and some states clearly have a candy agenda all their own.

• Reese's Republic: Reese's isn't just the national leader, it's also the most locally beloved candy in 17 states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia and Washington.
• Southern Sweet Spot: Sweet Smiles, the affordable candy assortment with a little bit of everything, is the standout pick across seven Southern states, including Georgia, Louisiana and Tennessee.
• Taffy Territory: Laffy Taffy was the go-to choice in five states, including Iowa and Wisconsin, while Airheads, another chewy taffy favorite, wins over Florida and Texas.
• Sour Southwest: SweeTarts owns a sour corner of the Southwest, leading in four states including Idaho and Oklahoma.
• The Licorice Divide: Arizona and California are team Red Vines, while Twizzlers holds its own in two states, Missouri and Wyoming.
• A Mixed Bag: New York and Rhode Island prefer Kinder Bueno, Alaska and Hawai‘i both love Lindt, Maryland and Nevada agree on Snickers, and Connecticut and Illinois share a taste for Sour Patch Kids. Colorado (Haribo), North Carolina (Hershey's Bar) and Minnesota (Mike and Ike) each fly solo.

Grandma's Candy Dish Is Still Cool, Apparently

This is the second year running that old-school candy has come back in a big way, and 2026 might be the biggest jump yet. Circus Peanuts leads the pack at +350%, with Bit-O-Honey up +180%, Lemonhead up +200%, and Dum-Dums more than doubling at +100%. Old candy doesn't die. It just waits for its comeback.

The Treats Everyone Loves to Hate

Some of you are proudly team candy corn. That's between you and your diary. Raisins, though? Nobody's excited to find those in a trick-or-treat bag, but the data doesn’t lie. Candy corn orders are up +30% year over year, and raisins are up +60%.

Bigger, Bolder, Spicier

Every year brings headlines about shrinking candy bars. DoorDash's data says otherwise. Full and king-size candies’ share of orders grew from over 15% to 20%. The bowl is changing in other ways, too. Takis just knocked pretzels and Goldfish out of the top non-candy spot, making it the Halloween snack of choice for those who prefer savory.

Cutting It Close, All Day Long

Turns out the candy chaos peaks before most people finish their coffee, a morning rush between 7 and 10 a.m. on Halloween that nearly doubles a normal Friday, then climbs again through the afternoon before peaking at 6 p.m., as families realize the bowl's almost empty with more trick-or-treaters still on the way.

When it comes to dinner, pizza has the night to itself. While most dinner categories take a backseat to trick-or-treating, pizza orders jumped +20%. The fast, no-fuss dinner keeps the night moving without slowing down the candy run.

Costumes cut it closer still. Over 60% of costume items were ordered in the final seven days before Halloween, over 40% in the final three, and over 10% arrived on Halloween itself. Costume procrastinators, we see you.

Halloween Gets Rated R After Dark

Halloween isn’t just for kids. Alcohol orders on Halloween night peaked at 7 p.m., right around the time trick or treating starts winding down. Condom orders ran over +10% above a typical night on Halloween itself, and Plan B orders climbed to roughly 25% above normal over the two days that followed.

Methodology: Based on DoorDash U.S. ordering data from October 1-31, 2025, unless otherwise noted.

This story was produced by DoorDash and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.