The National Retail Federation has said that holiday sales will go up between 3.8 and 4.2% this year. That puts total holiday candy sales over $2 Billion, using the National Confectionary Association’s $1.93 Billion estimate from 2017. Here are some facts about candy and Christmas from CandyStore.com:
Christmas Candy Quick Facts
- 93% of people gift chocolate and candy for the winter holidays
- 1.76 Billion candy canes are produced every year for the holiday season.
- 72% of people eat a candy cane starting on the straight end, the rest start on the curved end.
- Approximately 150 million chocolate Santas are produced annually.
- The largest candy cane in the world was made in Switzerland. It was 51 feet long.
- December 26th is National Candy Cane Day.
- Canada spent $362M (USD) in Dec 2014 on candy, confectionary & snack foods.
- 59% of holiday sales are expected to be online.
So what is Rhode Island’s, Massachusetts’ and Connecticut’s favorite Christmas candies? Check out this interactive map. Hover over the map to note what each state’s favorite candies are.