Households with Children Spend 27% More on Candy Than Those Without; Top Easter Candy Brands: Kinder Joy, Nerds, Sour Patch Kids, M&M Minis
Numerator, a data and tech company serving the market research space, has released new data on Easter 2023 consumer behavior, sourced from verified purchase data and a sentiment survey of over 5,200 consumers on their 2023 holiday intentions. Overall, 85% of consumers plan to celebrate Easter this year, and it is the second-most popular holiday for purchasing candy, second only to Halloween, with 50% of celebrators intending to buy candy.
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Consumer Sentiment Findings Include:
- 85% of consumers plan to celebrate Easter but plans vary by generation. Gen X and Boomers+ are more likely to celebrate Easter overall, while Gen Z and Millennials are twice as likely to travel for the holiday.
- Easter 2023 celebrations are up compared to Easter 2022. 57% of celebrators plan to gather with family and friends (vs. 50% in 2022), 38% plan to cook or bake (vs. 27% in 2022), and 28% plan to attend a religious event (vs. 22% in 2022).
- Over 1 in 4 Easter celebrators plan to celebrate the religious meaning behind the holiday. 28% of intended celebrators plan to attend a religious event for Easter, making it the top holiday for such plans, followed closely by Christmas (26%) and Hanukkah (17%).
- Easter shoppers will fill their baskets with food, candy, and gifts. 70% of celebrators intend to purchase food for the holiday, and 50% intend to buy candy, making Easter the second most popular holiday for candy purchasing after Halloween.
- 1 in 5 Easter celebrators will purchase gifts for the holiday. Among gift purchasers, 58% plan to buy toys & games, and Millennial shoppers are the most likely group to purchase Easter gifts.
- Half of consumers expect economic hardships to affect their Easter plans, and they are taking steps to mitigate the impact. 51% of Easter celebrators believe that inflation or a potential economic slowdown will moderately or significantly impact their celebration plans. To save money, they will buy items on sale (58%), use more coupons (37%), prepare budget-friendly foods (29%), and shop at dollar or discount stores (26%).
Consumer Purchase Data Findings Include:
- Different generations prefer different sweet treats and shopping locations. Boomers+ are 1.2x more likely to purchase their Easter candy at Dollar General, opting for Werther’s Original (38% more likely to do so than other generations) and Brach’s (+37%).
- Gen X is ready to spend on Easter. Gen X shoppers spend an average of $8 more on Easter candy than other generations, and they are 30% more likely to purchase Mike and Ike and 27% more likely to purchase SweeTarts.
- Millennials buy their sweet treats at Target. Millennials are 1.6x more likely to purchase Easter candy at Target, choosing Trolli (37% more likely to buy) and Kinder (+36%). Gen Z prefers Nerds (+46%) and Airheads (+37%).
- Consumers with children spend 27% more on candy than those without kids. They are also 3x more likely to purchase Kinder Joy and 2x more likely to purchase Nerds, Sour Patch and M&M Minis.
- Easter candy buyers are likely putting gifts in their shopping baskets as well. Shoppers who purchase candy are 6x more likely to purchase bubbles on the same trip, 3.5x more likely to purchase clay and dough, and 2x more likely to purchase action figures or art supplies.
Numerator’s 2023 Holiday Preview survey was fielded to 5,263 consumers in January 2023 and highlights consumers’ celebration, shopping and spending plans for 14 key holidays through the end of the year. 1,614 shoppers shared details of their Easter plans. Easter candy purchasing data was compiled using Numerator’s 150k household Total Commerce Panel, looking at data from 03/20/2022 to 04/17/2022 versus the prior four weeks.
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