Executive Summary:
In terms of popularity among American celebrations Easter celebrations are less than Mother’s Day and more than the Super Bowl. Over the past eight years, there has been a slight decrease in the observance of Easter, along with a minor dip in associated spending. Factors such as the presence of children, age, and income strongly influence individuals’ likelihood of participating in Easter celebrations. Notably, Easter celebrants demonstrate a tendency to engage in increased purchasing and shopping activities, particularly favoring online transactions. Additionally, those planning to celebrate Easter generally report higher levels of happiness compared to non-celebrants.
- Easter is the second most popular religious holiday in America, with 80.7% of adults planning to celebrate it in 2024.
- Celebratory activities include cooking a holiday meal, visiting family and friends, attending church, and participating in Easter egg hunts.
- Planned spending on Easter-related items has increased across categories, despite a slight overall decrease in spending since 2023.
- Discount stores are the primary destination for Easter spending, followed by department stores and online retailers.
- Characteristics such as the presence of children, age, and income strongly influence the likelihood of celebrating Easter.
- Easter celebrators plan to spend more and shop more frequently, with a preference for online shopping.
- Those who plan to celebrate Easter report higher levels of happiness across various aspects of life compared to non-celebrators.
Retail Trends, Spending, and Easter Celebratory Patterns
By Dr. Martin Block, Professor Emeritus, Northwestern University, Retail Analytics Council
Easter is the second most popular religious American holiday. Celebrating Easter is among the topics covered by Prosper Insights & Analytics (www.ProsperInsights.com) in the monthly online surveys that collect data about annual events and related market behavior. Celebrating Easter was asked in the March 2024 survey (n=8,372). In response to the question, “Will you celebrate Easter this year?” 80.7% of all adults said yes. As shown in Table 1, Easter ranks between Mother’s Day and the Super Bowl.
Table 1: Seasonal Holiday Participation
| Percent | |
| Christmas | 93.4 |
| 4th of July | 87.2 |
| Mother’s Day | 84.0 |
| Celebrate Easter | 80.7 |
| Super Bowl | 76.9 |
| Father’s Day | 75.3 |
| Halloween | 73.1 |
| St. Patrick’s Day | 61.9 |
| Valentines Day | 52.0 |
Recent Easter Celebration History
The Easter celebration rate has decreased slightly over the past eight years, as shown in Figure 1. The rate dropped sharply in 2021, no doubt related to COVID-19, and has a slight decrease at -0.11 per year. The rate, however, has increased slightly over 2023.
Table 2 shows plans for celebrating Easter. Cooking a holiday meal is the leading activity, followed by visiting family and friends and going to church. An Easter egg hunt is planned for about one out of three.
Table 2: Celebration Plans
| Percent | |
| Cook holiday meal | 56.7 |
| Visit family and friends | 53.4 |
| Go to church | 42.5 |
| Watch TV | 34.2 |
| Plan an Easter egg hunt | 32.8 |
| Browse the web | 18.3 |
| Open gifts | 17.0 |
| Shop in a store | 13.7 |
| Shop online | 13.3 |
| Work | 3.0 |
| Nothing | 2.9 |
Flowers, cards, decorations, and clothing dominate spending plans among those celebrating Easter, as shown in Table 3. Almost every planned category shows an increase consistent with the slight increase in celebrating the holiday.
Table 3: Planned Easter Celebration Spending
| 2023 | 2024 | Change | |
| Flowers | 56.2 | 56.6 | 0.4 |
| Cards | 53.1 | 53.1 | 0.0 |
| Decorations | 50.0 | 52.3 | 2.3 |
| Clothing | 47.0 | 50.9 | 3.8 |
| Gifts | 35.5 | 37.8 | 2.3 |
| Food | 10.9 | 11.2 | 0.2 |
| Candy | 10.0 | 10.6 | 0.5 |
| Other | 73.0 | 76.6 | 3.6 |
Those planning to celebrate Easter also indicated what inspires them when they shop for Easter-related items. Table 4 indicates tradition is the most important followed by social activity. Sales or promotions, store displays, and decorations are also important.
Table 4: Easter-related Purchase Inspiration
| Tradition | 64.3 |
| It’s a social activity with family or friends | 32.4 |
| Sales or promotions | 29.6 |
| Store displays and decorations | 22.0 |
| Exclusive or seasonal products | 20.9 |
| Retailer or brand events | 11.5 |
| Other | 1.3 |
| None of the above | 7.1 |
As shown in Table 5, the largest category of planned spending will be in a discount store, followed by a department store and online. Based on an 8-year history, annual growth rates are also shown. Every category shows a decline, except online, which shows an average 1.2% yearly increase. Specialty clothing stores remain flat.
Table 5: Where Will Easter Spend Occur
| Percent | AGR | |
| Discount Store | 52.7 | -1.0 |
| Department Store | 39.6 | -0.8 |
| Online | 33.5 | 1.2 |
| Local/Small Business | 21.7 | -0.5 |
| Specialty Store (Greeting Card/Gift Store, Florist, Jewelry, Electronics) | 19.8 | -0.7 |
| Specialty Clothing Store | 10.5 | 0.0 |
| Catalog | 2.2 | -0.1 |
Easter Celebrators
A classification regression tree (CRT) is a reasonable way to determine some of the characteristics of the Easter celebrator. Using the overall proportion of 80.7%, gender, age, income, and the presence of children are used to estimate the relative proportion in a classification tree. Figure 2 shows the first split by the presence of children; the number of non-children celebrators dropped to 77.7%. The percentages in the nodes indicate the proportion of the total adult sample and children increases to 88.5%. The highest node is having children, income over $16,000, and ages between 23 and 66, with a rate of 91.4% representing 19.8% of the total sample. The lowest node is no children, over age 72, with an income of over $150,000, showing 53.3% and representing only 0.7% of the total sample. The relative importance of the predictor variables in order are presence of children, age, income, and marital status. Marital status changes slightly, as indicated on the map. Single* includes divorced and never married, Married** indicated widowed, married, and living with a partner, Single***indicates divorced, never married and living with a partner, Married**** indicated widowed and married.
Figure 2: Easter Celebrators Segmentation Tree
The planned spending in 2024 has decreased since 2023 in every category, as shown in Table 6. This is despite increases in purchases in the same categories, as shown in Table 3. The overall average spending, weighted by category, is $139.45.
Table 6: Planned Average Purchase Amount by Category
| 2023 | 2024 | Percent | |
| Clothing | 61.07 | 58.40 | -4.4 |
| Gifts | 49.37 | 45.66 | -7.5 |
| Candy | 29.23 | 27.70 | -5.2 |
| Food | 65.98 | 65.47 | -0.8 |
| Flowers | 35.20 | 31.75 | -9.8 |
| Decorations | 39.06 | 31.75 | -9.8 |
| Cards | 24.43 | 21.24 | -13.0 |
| Other | 53.24 | 45.07 | -15.3 |
| Overall Average | 357.58 | 327.05 | -8.5 |
Table 7 shows that more celebrators plan to spend more, 19.7%, than those planning to spend less, 15.2%. The leading reason for spending more is higher prices, followed by planning a bigger celebration. The rest, 65.2%, say they plan to spend the same. Those planning to spend less say they have less money and are trying to save more. Those who say they are spending more say they see fewer retailer discounts. Those who say they are spending less say retailers are offering better discounts.
Table 7: Spending Plans and Reasons
| Spending More | 19.7 | Spending Less | 15.2 |
| Higher prices on Easter-related items or gifts | 56.2 | Have less money this year | 45.7 |
| I’m planning a bigger celebration this year | 30.2 | Trying to save more money overall this year | 45.5 |
| I am buying for more people | 24.1 | Too worried about the state of the economy | 30.8 |
| Have more money this year | 21.3 | Lower prices on Easter-related items or gifts | 13.3 |
| Buying more overall because of retailer discounts | 19.0 | Retailers are offering better discounts this year | 4.9 |
| I am seeing fewer retailer discounts | 11.9 | Other | 4.6 |
| Other | 3.3 | None of the above | 9.6 |
| None of the above | 2.0 |
Respondents were asked if they are planning any major purchases within the next six months, which is compared to those planning to celebrate Easter in Table 8. An index is calculated comparing the proportion planning a purchase among those celebrating Easter to all adults. In every category, the celebrators out plan the overall with an average index of 107.4.
Table 8: Purchase Plans in the Next Six Months, 2024
| Yes | No | Total | Index | |
| Vacation Travel | 19.6 | 17.3 | 19.2 | 102.1 |
| Computer | 15.1 | 12.1 | 14.5 | 104.1 |
| Mobile Device | 12.3 | 8.8 | 11.6 | 106.0 |
| Furniture | 11.8 | 6.7 | 10.8 | 109.3 |
| TV | 11.7 | 7.8 | 11.0 | 106.4 |
| Home Appliances | 11.2 | 7.5 | 10.5 | 106.7 |
| Major Home Improvement or Repair | 8.9 | 6.4 | 8.5 | 104.7 |
| Jewelry/Watch | 7.3 | 3.8 | 6.6 | 110.6 |
| Smartwatch | 7.3 | 4.3 | 6.7 | 109.0 |
| House | 5.4 | 3.1 | 5.0 | 108.0 |
| Stereo Equipment | 3.5 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 106.1 |
| DVD/Blu-ray Player | 3.1 | 1.6 | 2.8 | 110.7 |
| Digital Camera | 2.6 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 108.3 |
| RV/Boat | 2.4 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 114.3 |
| Digital Voice Assistants | 2.0 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 105.3 |
| Average | 107.4 |
Respondents were asked where they had shopped in the last 30 days by product category. They were asked if they shopped in a physical store, online using a computer, or online using a mobile device. Table 9 shows the comparison between celebrators and online shopping and all shopping. Celebrators shop more online and overall, in every category. The average index for online shopping is 107.3 and 105.2 for all shopping. Celebrators not only shop more, but they are also more likely to shop online.
Table 9: Product Purchasing Last 30 Days by Easter Celebration
| Online Site | All Shopping | |||||||
| Yes | No | Total | Index | Yes | No | Total | Index | |
| Groceries | 16.9 | 13.3 | 16.2 | 104.3 | 96.3 | 93.2 | 95.7 | 100.6 |
| Household Supplies | 16.8 | 11.8 | 15.9 | 105.7 | 88.3 | 77.1 | 86.2 | 102.4 |
| Health & Beauty Aids | 20.3 | 14.8 | 19.3 | 105.2 | 74.8 | 59.1 | 71.8 | 104.2 |
| Prescription Drugs/Refills | 13.1 | 12.4 | 13.0 | 100.8 | 72.5 | 62.9 | 70.7 | 102.5 |
| Apparel & Accessories | 24.4 | 19.4 | 23.5 | 103.8 | 71.0 | 54.4 | 67.9 | 104.6 |
| Shoes | 22.2 | 15.4 | 20.9 | 106.2 | 57.1 | 42.0 | 54.2 | 105.4 |
| Electronics | 17.8 | 12.3 | 16.7 | 106.6 | 45.5 | 34.0 | 43.4 | 104.8 |
| Home Decor/Linens & Bedding | 15.6 | 8.4 | 14.3 | 109.1 | 46.6 | 29.8 | 43.4 | 107.4 |
| Home Improvement/Lawn & Garden Supplies | 12.7 | 6.5 | 11.5 | 110.4 | 45.5 | 30.1 | 42.6 | 106.8 |
| Children’s Toys | 13.9 | 5.1 | 12.3 | 113.0 | 42.2 | 23.8 | 38.7 | 109.0 |
| Sporting Goods/Exercise Equipment | 11.4 | 5.9 | 10.4 | 109.6 | 35.7 | 23.2 | 33.4 | 106.9 |
| Furniture | 10.1 | 5.2 | 9.2 | 109.8 | 33.5 | 22.9 | 31.5 | 106.3 |
| Appliances | 10.4 | 4.8 | 9.4 | 110.6 | 33.2 | 22.4 | 31.2 | 106.4 |
| Average | 107.3 | 105.2 | ||||||
Happiness
Respondents are asked to rate their overall happiness across ten categories on a five-point scale. Table 9 shows the proportion of the combination of happy and totally happy. The unmistakable conclusion is that those who plan to celebrate Easter are happier than those who do not, as shown in the overall average. The biggest differences are in religion, love life, work life, and government.
Table 9: Happiness by Easter Celebration
| Yes | No | Total | Index | |
| Religion | 59.6 | 45.0 | 56.8 | 104.9 |
| Love Life | 54.2 | 43.0 | 52.1 | 104.0 |
| Work Life | 44.4 | 36.4 | 42.9 | 103.5 |
| Government | 23.9 | 19.8 | 23.1 | 103.5 |
| Family | 66.9 | 56.5 | 65.0 | 102.9 |
| Health | 57.2 | 49.5 | 55.7 | 102.7 |
| Neighborhood | 59.9 | 52.0 | 58.4 | 102.6 |
| Friends | 63.6 | 55.9 | 62.2 | 102.3 |
| House | 62.2 | 55.0 | 60.9 | 102.1 |
| Home | 64.8 | 58.2 | 63.5 | 102.0 |
| Composite | 55.7 | 47.1 | 54.1 | 103.0 |
Summary
Easter ranks between the Super Bowl and Mother’s Day in frequency of celebration. Celebrating the day has decreased slightly in the last eight years, and spending is also down slightly. The presence of children, age, and income are the strongest predictors of planning to celebrate. Celebrators plan to buy more and shop more, and they are more likely to shop online as well. Easter celebrators are also happier than those who don’t plan to celebrate.