Candy Sales Are Expected to Top $2 Billion for Easter

WASHINGTON – The Easter bunny is bringing lots of goodies this year, according to a new survey by the National Retail Federation predicting strong spending for the late-April holiday. Conducted with Prosper Insights & Analytics, the annual Easter spending survey estimates that U.S. consumers will spend $18.11 billion on Easter, a slight dip from the $18.16 billion projected in 2018.

With nearly 80% of survey respondents expected to celebrate, shoppers are projected to spend a little more on average: $151.25 in 2019 versus $150.05 in 2018. This year’s projection just missed 2017’s record average of $151.91. Meanwhile, 87% of Easter shoppers are expected to buy candy, spending $2.49 billion, a decline from $2.63 billion in 2018.

Consumers also are projected to spend $5.74 billion on food, $3.27 billion on clothing, $2.87 billion on gifts, $1.29 billion on flowers, just more than $1 billion on decorations and $780 million on greeting cards.

More than half of consumers (54%) plan to cook a holiday meal, while 16% will let a restaurant handle holiday food preparations. About 15% of shoppers say they will open gifts on Easter. Just under a third of consumers are planning an Easter egg hunt for the little ones in their lives.

According to recently released NACS State of the Industry data, seasonal candy sales contributed 14.1% to the candy category in 2018 and experienced a nearly 11% increase in sales from 2017 to 2018. For more on the candy category and overall industry performance in 2018, look to the NACS State of the Industry Report of 2018 Data to be released in June.