WASHINGTON—Consumers plan to spend $24 billion on Easter this year, up from $20.8 billion in 2022 and the previous record high of $21.7 billion in 2020. According to the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics, 81% of Americans will celebrate the spring holiday and spend an average of $192.01, the highest figure ever recorded.

“Easter endures as an important holiday for many Americans, signifying new beginnings and a time of celebration with friends and family,” said Matthew Shay, president and CEO of NRF. “As consumers plan to mark the occasion through a variety of traditions, retailers are dedicated to making this year a memorable holiday.”

Easter items consumers say they plan to purchase include candy ($3.3 billion), gifts ($3.8 billion) and food ($7.3 billion), and they’re expected to spend $4 billion on clothing, $1.8 billion on flowers, $1.7 billion on decorations and $1.1 billion on greeting cards.

This year’s most popular activities include cooking a holiday meal (56%), visiting family and friends (50%), going to church (43%) and planning an Easter egg hunt (34%). As in past years, most shoppers (54%) say they will make Easter purchases from discount stores. Other favorite shopping destinations include department stores (42%), online (33%), local and small businesses (22%) and specialty stores (20%).

“We are seeing real Easter sales growth compared with pre-pandemic, and among the drivers are consumers who are planning to purchase more Easter clothing and gifts,” said Phil Rist, executive vice president of strategy at Prosper. “Consumers ages 35 to 44 will bump up their spending more than any other group.”

Those celebrating the season say they’re inspired to shop for Easter-related items because of tradition (63%), it’s a social activity with family or friends (31%), sales or promotions (29%), store displays or decorations (23%) or exclusive or seasonal products (20%). About half (54%) of those not celebrating say they’ll still take advantage of Easter-related bargains and anticipate spending $23.41 per person, primarily on candy and food.