Even in the face of continuing inflation, the Easter bunny just keeps hop, hop, hopping along.<\/p>\n
Most American consumers who celebrate Easter plan to spend as much or more this year on holiday items such as candy, food and beverage, and d\u00e9cor compared to last year, according to a new Advantage Solutions survey.<\/p>\n
Some 33% of respondents say they\u2019re planning to spend \u201cmuch more\u201d on food and 29% say they plan to spend much more on candy this year, despite higher prices, according to the survey, which was conducted earlier this month and looks at Americans\u2019 purchasing habits and overall sentiment about Easter, which takes place on March 31.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than four out of five Americans plan to celebrate the Easter season this year and category growth is anticipated,\u201d says Rich Adams, senior vice president at Advantage Solutions. \u201cHowever, seasons are being compressed. Consumers are purchasing more in the last week, and that trend is expected to continue this Easter, which arrives earlier this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, unlike other major holidays with long lead times, most Easter shopping happens within a week of the actual day, according to the Advantage survey.<\/p>\n
Compared to the December holiday season, for example, when more than two-thirds of shoppers start buying before Thanksgiving, more than 60% of individuals who “plan to be hosting and going all out” for Easter shop for candy within seven days of the holiday. More than a third shop one to three days beforehand. In terms of food, 72% of plan to shop within seven days before Easter.<\/p>\n
While inflation and higher prices are factors in how much consumers plan to spend, they\u2019re not proving to be a barrier to purchase behavior \u2014 particularly for parents of young children who say they are trying \u201cto keep the holiday spirit alive\u201d and are willing to spend more to do so.<\/p>\n
Half of parents with kids younger than 18 say they’re worried about disappointing their children by not spending enough on holiday items.<\/p>\n
However, even though inflation isn’t stopping purchases, consumers are still looking for deals. \u201cFinding a good price\/value\u201d is the top consideration for shoppers buying food (56%) and d\u00e9cor (49%), while 47% say it\u2019s a factor for candy and beverage purchases. In the candy and beverage categories, \u201cfavorite brand\u201d outranks all other considerations with 58% and 49% of consumers, respectively.<\/p>\n
Shopper insights<\/strong> also show candy is king for Easter shoppers, with 85% of consumers planning to purchase everything from chocolate bunnies to jelly beans and marshmallow treats this year. It\u2019s also a versatile purchase, with 74% of shoppers planning to use candy for Easter baskets, 62% planning to use candy for Easter egg hunts and 44% plan to use candy as part of their Easter d\u00e9cor.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s not just for the little ones \u2014 while more than half of consumers purchase candy for kids, another 39% purchase candy for \u201canyone who is a kid at heart.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAfter Halloween, Easter is the second most popular holiday season for candy purchases,\u201d says Adams. \u201cHaving candy to put out in dishes, Easter egg hunts and baskets are the largest usage occasions. Chocolate candy makes up the vast majority of dollar sales for Easter, but non-chocolate helps drive units because of the lower price points.\u201d<\/p>\n The Advantage Solutions Easter survey is based on responses from 749 U.S. consumers who celebrate Easter and are their household\u2019s primary grocery shopper or share the responsibility.<\/p>\n Click here for the full report<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Even in the face of continuing inflation, the Easter bunny just keeps hop, hop, hopping along. Most American consumers who celebrate Easter plan to spend as much or more this year on holiday items such as candy, food and beverage, and d\u00e9cor compared to last year, according to a new Advantage Solutions survey. Some 33% […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2922,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"mrktblog-category":[41],"class_list":["post-2807","mrktblog-posts","type-mrktblog-posts","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","mrktblog-category-advantage-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAdditional Survey Highlights<\/h3>\n
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