Halloween candy sales are off to a slow start this year as U.S. consumers grapple with high living costs and eye-popping chocolate prices.

Halloween candy sales fell 6. 7% in the month ending Oct. 17 compared to the same period last year, according to NielsenIQ, a market research firm.

Nielsen also noted an 11. 7% decline in candy sales in mid-September, erasing the preseason gains that Halloween candy enjoyed the previous two years.