Americans planning to celebrate Easter this year will shell out a record amount for the holiday as consumers lean into celebrations and anticipate higher prices as inflation persists, according to new data.
The National Retail Federation reported this week that more than 80% of U.S. consumers say they will celebrate Easter, and consumers expect to spend on average $192.01 each after factoring in purchases for items like new outfits, meals, candy, gifts and decorations.
The organization said Easter spending is expected to reach a new high of $24 billion, up from $20.8 billion last year and the previous record of $21.7 billion set in 2020.
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Consumers expect to spend the most on food ($7.3 billion) and plan to spend more on clothing ($4 billion) and gifts ($3.8 billion) this year than last. Candy sales are anticipated to reach $3.3 billion for the 2023 holiday.
While high inflation is certainly a factor for the increased spending on Easter, trends indicate Americans are making trade-offs to prioritize holiday celebrations even while their budgets are being squeezed.
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Katherine Cullen, NRF's senior director of industry and consumer insights, said retail spending was strong throughout the pandemic with help from stimulus funding, but Americans were also investing more into holiday celebrations to make them more meaningful given the uncertainty and stress in their lives.
Cullen told FOX Business some of the growth in Easter spending this year is being driven by higher food costs, but one hypothesis for the record spending for the holiday is that consumers' stress over COVID-19 has been replaced.
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"A lot of consumers are not as worried or as locked down," she said. "But we are still seeing – even with some of the economic uncertainty going on – people are still really valuing the celebration."
