When you think about costly holidays, you probably think about the winter holidays. Many of us spend a big chunk of change between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. However, Easter is a surprisingly pricy holiday.
Average Easter Spending in America and the UK
Retail Gazette reports that UK shoppers are expected to spend £1.1 billion on Easter in 2019. That is certainly a lot of money. However, it’s not even close to what Americans plan to spend.
How much do Americans spend on Easter candy? A lot. In fact, Candy Industry reports that Americans will spend more than twice that amount on Easter candy alone. In total, Americans will spend $18.11 billion on Easter. That’s an unbelievable amount of money, but it’s actually down slightly from last year’s Easter spending.
Interestingly, while Americans collectively are spending less on Easter this year than last, shoppers in the UK are spending more. More Brits plan to splurge on Easter shopping this year than in 2018. Each person will also likely spend more.
Average Easter Spending Per Person
Sixty-nine percent of the UK population plans to shop for Easter this year. Each person will likely spend about £30.41. People aged 45-54 will likely spend the most at about £32.25 each. In contrast, UK Easter shoppers aged 18-24 will only spend about £25.28 each. Of course, this makes a lot of sense, since older consumers are probably shopping for their children this Easter.
There is also a geographical spending difference in the UK. People living in the West Midlands will spend the least at about £25.57. In contrast, those living in the Northeast of England will spend the most, averaging £44.97 each.
Obviously, people in America will be spending more on average than people in the UK. There will also be more shoppers. Whereas not quite 70% of the UK population will celebrate Easter, approximately 80% of Americans will choose to celebrate. Each of them will spend about $151.25 this year.
Although Americans collectively are spending a bit less than last year, they’re individually spending about $1 more each. There are just slightly fewer shoppers this year, so the total spending projection is a tad lower. This year is the record low for the number of Americans celebrating Easter since this annual spending survey began about ten years ago.
What Americans Spend Easter Money On
Of the people who are shopping for Easter this year, nearly 90% will buy candy. In total, Americans will likely spend nearly $2.5 billion on Easter candy. However, that’s less than half what they plan to spend on food.
Many people enjoy Easter meals with their families and friends, so they’ll be spending about $5.74 billion on food. More than half will cook their holiday meal — however, about 16% plan to purchase an Easter meal from a restaurant.
Here are some of the other projected expenses:
- Easter clothing: $3.27 billion
- Gifts that aren’t flowers or candy: $2.87 billion
- Flowers: $1.29 billion
- Easter decorations: $1 billion
- Easter greeting cards: $780 million
Of course, the majority of people will spend their money on or before Easter. However, a surprisingly large percentage of people don’t plan to spend money until after the holiday. More than 20% of shoppers don’t intend to celebrate Easter but do intend to shop the post-Easter sales. They will likely spend $19 per person on average to take advantage of sales on candy and other Easter items.
You Don’t Have to Spend to Enjoy Easter
Many people think of Easter as a time to spend money on candy, chocolate, photos with the Easter bunny, brunches, and more. However, you don’t have to pay money to celebrate the holiday. You certainly don’t have to spend a lot of money. According to the UK survey, 9% of the population intends to celebrate Easter but not to spend any additional money to do so.
How to Save Money on Easter
Americans could take a hint from people in the UK about how to save money on Easter. After all, many of them are shopping, but they aren’t spending as much on average as Americans do. Americans could cut their individual Easter spending in half and still have a bigger budget than what those in the UK will spend. All Americans need to do is embrace moderation when it comes to their Easter shopping.
Of course, there are also many other ways to save money on Easter.
Wear What’s In Your Closet
Americans will spend more than $3 billion on Easter clothing this year. People like to dress up to go to church, brunches, and egg hunts. They also enjoy doing springtime family photos. That’s all great, but it’s completely unnecessary to spend a lot of money on brand new clothing for this day.
Shop your closet first. If you truly don’t have anything to wear, then consider doing a pre-Easter clothing swap with friends. You might find the perfect new-to-you Easter dress in a friend’s closet. This is a particularly great way to get new clothes for children to wear on Easter.
DIY Decorations
Americans will spend $1 billion on Easter decorations in 2019. They’ll also spend more than 1/4 billion dollars on greeting cards. If you take the time to make those items yourself, you can save a lot of money. Handmade greeting cards – or even just a short letter – will be more personal anyway. As for decorations, you can easily find a tutorial to upcycle items you already own to create a beautiful Easter display without spending any money at all.
Use Coupons for Food Shopping
Americans will spend nearly $6 billion on food, not including candy, this Easter. Therefore, if you can cut your food costs, then you can significantly cut your Easter spending. If you’re planning to use a restaurant for your Easter meal, then you might want to think twice. At the very least, look for a place offering a good deal on Easter.
If you’re making your food at home, then make sure to do meal planning in advance. Consider a potluck approach if you plan to have a large gathering. Shop with coupons at the grocery store. Switch from a meat-heavy meal to a more affordable plant-based meal. There are many ways to cut costs on food, and it won’t compromise the quality of your Easter experience at all.
Generally speaking, focus more on spending quality time with people for Easter. Enjoy the spring weather together. Connect with nature. Participate in spiritual activities if you wish. Take the spending out of the equation and really connect with what Easter means for you.
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