With Easter right around the corner, consumers are starting to browse for chocolate bunnies and other spring items in preparation for the holiday. Eighty-one percent of consumers plan to celebrate the holiday and they expect to spend $22.4 billion, the second-highest in NRF and Prosper Insights & Analytics’ Easter survey history. Consumers plan to spend an average of $177.06 per person on top items like candy, food, gifts and clothing this year. Read on for more insights into how consumers are spending on Easter this year.
As a floating holiday, Easter can occur as early as late March or as late as mid-April. That means the weather can vary dramatically from year to year as well. Weather-based retail analytics firm Planalytics shared some insights into how Easter’s timing can influence the categories consumers shop for.
Explore our Easter headquarters to see the latest insights into consumer shopping trends for the holiday.
“Different areas of the country are expecting different weather conditions in the week leading into this year’s March 31st Easter,” says Evan Gold, executive vice president at Planalytics. “Warmer-than-normal temperatures in New England and parts of the Midwest open a window of opportunity from an Easter-on-Easter comp perspective for retailers to capitalize on favorable weather-driven demand for spring apparel and outdoor categories in these regions. Furthermore, shoppers across the country’s eastern half will feel as if springtime has returned with temperatures rebounding from this week’s cold snap.”
One of the first purchase decisions that “springs” to mind when talking about the weather is clothing — and with about half (49%) of those celebrating Easter planning to purchase new clothes for the holiday, consumers everywhere are sifting through florals and pastels to find the perfect outfit. Planalytics expects some areas of the country to see more interest in warmer-weather items like shorts and polo shirts, although spring doesn’t always mean the warmest (or dryest) weather, with other areas possibly seeing an interest in rainwear purchases.
Decorating with eggs, bunnies and more has always been a key part of Easter, but this category has been blossoming over the past several years. Consumers have ramped up their Easter spending across all categories compared with 2019, and they’ve especially increased their spending on decorations.
Although décor is not the top Easter category, consumers have made their love known for items like spring wreaths, colorful baskets and fluffy little animals, with 48% purchasing Easter décor, up from 41% in 2019. With more consumers purchasing these items, total spending has also increased — consumers are spending half a billion more on the category this year than they were five years ago.
Stores like Crate & Barrel, Target and Dollar Tree are helping consumers join the trend of Easter decorating. Or they can shop Joann or Michaels for something on the craftier side to spruce up their Easter décor.
Nothing quite matches the feeling of joy when watching little ones hunt for Easter eggs, either in the house under furniture and behind curtains or outside nestled in grass and flowers. This egg-cellent activity is the top plan among consumers with young kids — 56% of those celebrating Easter with children under 10 in their household have plans for an Easter egg hunt at home this year.
Meanwhile, the top Easter Sunday celebration overall is cooking a holiday meal, as consumers start to make plans for holiday dinners and brunches to mark the occasion.
For more Easter trends and data, visit NRF’s Easter Headquarters to see additional insights.