evidence: Retail chocolate candy prices are 17% higher than they were just two years ago per Euromonitor. According to USDA, the price of sweets overall increased 9.2% this year alone. [...] Valentine’s Day shoppers with chocolates on their list are in for sticker shock, continuing what they saw at Halloween and Christmas. Thanks to distinctly higher wholesale costs for sugar and particularly cocoa, consumers are paying 9.2% more than a year ago for confections, outpacing broader inflation. Chocolate prices have already surged 17% in the U.S. over the past two years, per Euromonitor International. Not surprisingly, volume sales for the chocolate confections category are 5% below their year-ago levels (for the 52 weeks ending Dec. 17, 2023), according to Circana data. [...] Dollar sales of chocolate confectionery have grown, largely owing to higher prices, which appear to be stifling the segment's overall volume growth. Candy & Snack Today data from Circana noted the category’s 52-week dollar sales ending June 19 increased 9.5%, though this was actually down from double-digit growth in recent years. More-recent Circana data continue to demonstrate dollar growth in the category, though slower and the result of increased prices and at the expense of unit sales. For the 52 weeks ending Dec. 17, 2023, chocolate candy dollar sales were 6.4% ahead of one year prior, 15.3% ahead of two years ago. However, those higher dollar returns came amid pronounced declines in volume sales, which fell 5% and 9.5%, respectively.