• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, October 1, 2021

The online world is full of maps to get people from one place to another or help them plan ahead. In my day, kids would walk down the street on Halloween night and be surprised with each house they approached. A porch light turned on signaled a home ready to distribute candy. A light off meant they weren’t celebrating or they ran out of treats.  

Leaving the porch light seems so passé. Now, Nextdoor has created an interactive local guide for neighbors to share how they will celebrate Halloween. This is not the first year they have used this map, but this year Reese’s brand stepped in to become sponsor.

“Halloween is one of our favorite holidays here at Hershey,” Allen Dark, senior manager of Reese’s, told Nextdoor. “We’re thrilled to be able to help Halloween lovers celebrate the fun of the season and make more moments of goodness with their friends and neighbors by sponsoring Nextdoor’s Treat Map.”

The Treat Map first debuted in 2013. Previous sponsors have included Party City and Target.

Some 85% of people plan to hand out treats on Halloween night, while 68% plan on having "BOO-tiful" decorations, and 53% plan to be the ghost with the most by doing both, according to a Nextdoor poll of nearly 40,000 neighbors on the site. 

Here’s how it works: clicking the candy icon tells trick-or-treaters you’re giving out candy, while the haunted décor icon should attract travelers wanting to see decorations, and the ghost icon says the house is giving out treats and decoration.

The National Retail Federation’s annual survey, conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, shows consumers are ready. The annual survey estimates 65% of U.S. residents intend to celebrate Halloween or participate in holiday activities this year -- up from 58% in 2020 and comparable with 68% in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Households with children -- 82% -- are much more likely to celebrate Halloween than those without, at 55%.

With a revival of Halloween this year, brands are getting creative. T&G Global launched a marketing campaign to showcase its Jazz apple as the hero of Halloween.

The company is sharing simple family recipes on its social media channels that are healthier than the typical Halloween candy handouts.

Apples are typically not the first choice for kids going door to door. Some 66% of consumers plan to celebrate by handing out candy, 52% will decorate their home or yard, 46% will dress in a costume, 44% will carve a pumpkin, and 25% will host or attend a party, according to the NRF data.

More celebration typically means an increase in consumer spending on everything related to the holiday, and more opportunity for brands, from CPG to clothing, to connect with consumers.

Consumer spending on Halloween-related items is expected to reach an all-time high of $10.14 billion this year, up from $8.05 billion in 2020.

The NRF report doesn’t breakout online vs. offline, but on average consumers plan to spend $102.74 on costumes, candy, decorations and greeting cards, up $10 compared with last year.

Households with children are estimated to spend more than twice the amount -- $149.69 -- than households without children -- $73.57 -- on Halloween items, according to the NRF.

For those who want to determine which type of candy to give away this year, a map of the U.S. created by Zippia, a job recruiting firm, might help.

Using Google Trends, Zippia determined the states with the most avid fans of each candy by examining 50 different candies. Then the team determined the candy searched for the most. For example, while Tennessee eats all the same candies as the rest of the country, the search interest in Runts -- a crunchy candy sold by Nestle -- is much higher than the remaining states, making it more popular in Tennessee than anywhere else.

Kit Kats and Twix bars this year dethroned last year’s favorite, Starburst. Ohio loves Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Candy Corn is loved best in West Virginia. Some 28 states prefer chocolates candies while 22 prefer gummies, fruit-flavored candies, and other non-chocolate candies. Oklahoma loving Circus Peanuts. Idaho, Maine, and Mississippi love Dums Dums. Colorado has a passion for Black Liquorice. South Dakota loves Snickers, while North Dakota loves Whoppers.