WASHINGTON -- Americans anticipate spending more than ever on Easter this year. The National Retail Federation (NRF) expects spending for the holiday is expected to reach $17.3 billion, it said in its annual Easter Spending Survey.
Those celebrating plan to spend an average of $146 per person, according to the survey. That’s the highest level in the 13 years the group has conducted the survey and up significantly over last year’s $140.62 per person and $16.4 billion total.
“Retailers are beginning one of their busiest times of year and are more than ready as consumers shop for spring essentials,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Shoppers will find promotions on a number of items on their lists, from Easter baskets to sports equipment, home goods, garden tools and more.”
According to the survey, consumers will spend $5.5 billion on food, $3 billion on clothing, $2.7 billion on gifts, $2.4 billion on candy and $1.2 billion on flowers.
With shopping lists in hand, 58.4% of consumers will head to discount stores, 41.4% will go to department stores and 24.7% will shop at local small businesses. Not everyone will make it to stores: 21.4% will shop online, up from 18.8% last year. Among smartphone owners, 22.8% will research products on their devices while 14.9% will use their phones to make a purchase.
“Easter is a traditional holiday that consumers of all ages and on all budget levels celebrate with family and friends,” Prosper Insights & Analytics analyst Pam Goodfellow said. Prosper Insights conducted the survey for NRF.
“Consumers have longs lists of items they need to get their spring off to a good start,” she said. “Smart shoppers plan to compare prices, research the items on their lists and take advantage of promotions on things like apparel and candy.”
Consumers celebrate Easter in a number or different ways: 57.8% will visit family and friends, 55.6% will cook a holiday meal, 51.3% will go to church and 15.6% will go to a restaurant. Children have plenty to look forward to after the Easter Bunny comes: 31.4% of consumers plan an Easter egg hunt and 13.9% will open gifts.
The survey of 7,264 consumers was conducted March 1-8 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.2 percentage points.
NRF is a retail trade association representing convenience stores, discount stores, department stores, home goods and specialty stores, Main Street merchants, grocers, wholesalers, chain restaurants and Internet retailers from the United States and more than 45 countries.
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