CINCINNNATI — You can't go a day anymore without hearing about shortages and rising prices.
The good news: when it comes to Halloween, you should be able to find candy at a decent price this year.
Stores placed orders months ago, and have been well stocked with candy, unlike the situation with bottled water, Gatorade, snack chips, and other items in short supply.
Of course, the easiest place to buy Halloween candy is your regular grocery store, because it is so convenient.
But a recent price comparison suggests that some other stores, including chain drugstores, may have it for less.
CNBC's "Make It" series just compared the price of buying 300 small packets of candy from M&M-Mars, and Hershey, the two biggest candy makers.
Drugstore chain comes out the winner
The report found Walgreens is the cheapest, something many shoppers would not suspect due to their higher prices on shampoo and cosmetics.
In a basket of 300 individual pieces of Halloween candy:
- Walgreens was the low-price winner at $19.66.
- A warehouse club came in at $22.48 (BJ's Wholesale in their test).
- Walmart was a bit more expensive at $23.22.
- Amazon Prime -- yes they ship candy -- was $24.99.
- Target was a dollar higher at $25.98.
- An East Coast grocery chain was priciest at $31.42 (Stop and Shop was used in their test)
Sales at Kroger right now
In the Cincinnati area, Kroger, however, tends to be much more competitive.
Kroger's weekly ad has some great deals right now.
At Kroger, buy two Hershey's or Reese's bags, and get one free, with a Kroger Plus card. Kroger also has bags of Starburst or Twizzlers for $2.49 (most small bags are close to $4 these days).
Kroger also has large boxes of Good & Plenty and other candy for just $1 each, good for the neighborhood kids you really like.
The Cincinnati area also features a good deal at CVS stores, with a buy-one-get-one-free deal on many $5 candy bags.
Finally, Meijer is competitive, too,with $3.99 bags on sale this week for $3.79. They are also selling giant bags of mixed candy, with 200 pieces total, for $20.
But we know what grocery shelves have looked like all year, so don't wait till Sunday to shop, so you don't waste your money.
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