Easter Spending Rises, As Holiday Once Again Falls Later in Season

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Easter Spending Rises, As Holiday Once Again Falls Later in Season,
According to NRF Survey

Washington, DC, March 15, 2006—Apparel and other retailers can expect increased traffic in the stores this Easter, thanks in-part to the holiday falling later in the year.  The NRF 2006 Easter Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch for NRF, found that 77.6 percent of Americans plan to celebrate Easter, up marginally from the previous year (75.9%). Total Easter spending is estimated to reach $12.63 billion in 2006, a significant increase from the $9.6 billion spent in 2005. This year, the average shopper expects to spend $121.72 on Easter, up from $96.51 in 2005.

A major factor for the rise in consumer spending this Easter has to do with the holiday falling later in the Spring season.  Consumer spending on apparel is expected to increase greatly over the previous year, when the holiday fell on March 27, the earliest Easter in 16 years. According to the survey, 41.2 percent of consumers plan to purchase clothing for the upcoming holiday, compared to only 29.4 percent in 2005.  Of those that will be purchasing apparel, the average consumer plans to spend $55.50.  In comparison, of those that bought apparel for Easter in 2005, the average consumer spent $49.95.

“After a long, cold winter, consumers are ready to pack away their scarves and gloves and hit the stores for their Spring wardrobe,” said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin.  “The seasonal weather should allow many apparel retailers to breathe a sigh of relief”

Consumers will be dedicating almost one-third of their Easter budget to food purchases ($36.44).  Other items shoppers will be scooping up include clothing ($22.87), gifts ($18.62), candy ($16.65), flowers ($8.02), decorations ($6.36), and greeting cards ($6.51).

Consumers between the ages of 35-44 are once again expected to spend the most on Easter this year ($134.42).  Spending among young adults 18-24 years old, who spent the least amount on Easter last year ($65.40), will nearly double this year, with the average young adult spending $121.48. In addition, shoppers in the Northeast will be spending the most on the holiday ($144.03), while shoppers in the Midwest will spend the least ($105.59).

"The Easter holiday signifies the kick-off to Spring, for both consumers and retailers" said Phil Rist, Vice President of Strategy for BIGresearch. “As Easter approaches, we will begin to see more pastel colors and seasonal merchandise hitting the shelves.”

Discount stores will remain popular destinations this Easter, with more than one-half (59.6%) of consumers heading out to their favorite bargain retailers.  Other shopping destinations include department stores (30.0%), specialty stores (22.2%) and online (10.8%).

Other Easter facts

• Easter accounts for 15 percent of the floral purchases made for holidays, according to the Society of American Florists. Of the flowering houseplants purchased for Easter last year, 53 percent were lilies.
• According to the National Confectioners Assocation, 90 million chocolate Easter bunnies and 16 billion jelly beans are made for Easter each year.
• Marshmallow PEEPS® have hailed as the top selling non-chocolate Easter candy brand for the last decade, outselling jelly beans.
  

The NRF 2006 Easter Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to the Easter holiday. The survey was conducted for NRF by BIGresearch. The poll of 6,341 consumers was conducted from March 1-8, 2006. The consumer poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0 percent.

BIGresearch is a consumer market intelligence firm that provides unique consumer insights that are gathered online utilizing very large sample sizes. BIGresearch's syndicated Consumer Intentions and Actions survey monitors the pulse of more than 7,000 consumers each month to empower its clients with unique insights for identifying opportunities in a fragmented and changing marketplace.

The National Retail Federation is the world 's largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores as well as the industry 's key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents an industry with more than 1.4 million U.S. retail establishments, more than 23 million employees - about one in five American workers - and 2005 sales of $4.4 trillion. As the industry umbrella group, NRF also represents more than 100 state, national and international retail associations. www.nrf.com.

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