Easter is officially on its way and consumers are ready to spend more than last year, according to the latest NRF survey. The NRF 2004 Easter Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch for NRF, found that 75.6% of Americans plan to celebrate Easter. Those who will celebrate plan to spend an average of $107.17, up from $102.76 last year. In all, consumers are expected to spend $10.47 billion on Easter this year.
Survey results indicate that the apparel sector will continue to see increased sales, with the average consumer planning to spend $20.85 on clothing, second only to food at $31.65. Americans also plan to spend $16.87 on gifts and $14.97 on candy. Flowers, decorations, and greeting cards see average spending of less than $10.00 each per person.
“Apparel sales are off to a great start this year,” said Phil Rist, Vice President of Strategy for BIGresearch. “With continued consumer demand and appealing spring fashions, we expect Easter sales to build on that momentum.”
Though womens spending on Easter will be virtually unchanged from last year, spending by men is expected to jump more than 13 percent (13.48%) to $115.91. Setting aside traditional expectations, more men than women are expected to purchase flowers (41.1% vs. 30.8%) and the average man will spend more money on clothing than women ($21.93 vs. $20.00). Last year, the same number of men and women purchased flowers, and women spent more on clothes.
“Men will not be taking a back seat on spending this holiday,” said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. “Retailers that market Easter merchandise solely to women will be missing out on a big piece of the pie.”
Once again, Easter candy will be the most-purchased holiday item, with 86.6 percent of consumers planning to purchase chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, marshmallow chicks and other traditional holiday merchandise. Also, four in five consumers (80.9%) plan to purchase food for Easter, 61.9 percent will buy gifts, 53.3 percent will buy greeting cards, and 42.2 percent will buy clothes.
