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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.

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.

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