UK shoppers will spend £1.7bn over Easter 2022 – 4.2% more than last year, new research suggests.
Global Data questioned 2,000 UK adults about their plans for Easter, and found that 31% said they expected to spend more this year than they did in 2019.
Zoe Mills, senior retail analyst at GlobalData, says: “While Easter 2021 did bounce back after the Covid-impaired prior year, 2022 marks the first opportunity for friends and family to celebrate Easter without restrictions limiting activities, and 30.8% of UK consumers stated that they intend to spend time with family over the event, according to GlobalData Retail’s Easter Intentions survey. This will drive engagement in the occasion this year with opportunity to entertain, and retailers should focus on complementary categories such as decorations and tableware.
“Despite strong growth prospects for this occasion, consumers remain mindful about their health and what they consume. The continued shift in dietary habits has seen a number of consumers turn away from dairy and gluten, encouraging retailers and brands to improve the level of choice in vegan and free-from Easter eggs, as well as dark chocolate options. While chocolate Easter eggs are a staple of the event, 40.1% of shoppers are planning to seek out healthier alternatives this year.”
This year could be the first in which Easter trade returns to more normal shopping patterns in the wake of Covid-19. Easter 2020 fell just weeks after the beginning of the first UK pandemic lockdown. With non-essential retail closed, trade had to move online quickly – but still missed out on the benefit of in-store sales and stock.
And Easter Sunday 2021 fell on April 4 2021, days before the end of the third UK pandemic lockdown on April 12. Savvy estimated that Easter spending increased nonetheless in both years, rising to £1.1bn in 2020 and £1.2bn in 2021 – as lockdown restrictions relaxed – from £877m in 2019.
