Easter Egg Sales Soar by Almost 50 Percent

As lockdown restrictions are eased, it appears that people are getting ready to celebrate this Easter weekend. Research shows that Easter egg sales are soaring as consumers are spending more compared to this time lat year.

According to figures from analysts, Kantar, Easter egg sales have risen £48m. This is an increase of almost 50% to £153m, when compared to last year.

A whopping £37m has also already been spent on hot cross buns.

The conclusion is that people are making a special effort this year. Maybe grandparents are preparing to show up with extra treats following the past 12 months of restrictions. Or perhaps people are wanting to bring some joy to a loved one after tough times over the last year.

These figures mirror data from M&S stating that sales of its online range of Easter gifts are up 3,000%. Their Easter egg sales are up 86%.

Easter Weekend Plans

The warmer weather and lighter evenings, coupled with the lifting of restrictions, mean many people will be planning outdoor gatherings over the long weekend.

The survey also reveals, 61% of people are looking forward to socialising with friends again and 23% of households are planning to fire up the barbecue if the weather permits.

Research published by Sainsbury’s suggests three out of five people plan to host an Easter meal outside. Four out of five people said they would not be deterred by wet weather. They would still go ahead with their outdoor plans.

More than half of households said they would most likely swap the traditional Easter roast for something less formal this weekend. This would enable them to celebrate more easily out in their garden with friends and family, whilst abiding by the rule of six.

According to Sainsbury’s, one third of people are planning barbecues, a quarter of people will order takeaways, and a fifth are hoping for a picnic.

Grocery Sales Slide

As well as the boost from Easter, grocery sales increased 7.4% in the 12 weeks leading to 21 March, when compared to last year. Although this was a decrease to levels of sales compared to the previous months. Compared with a year earlier, sales went down 3% in the four weeks up to 21 March.

However, it is worth noting that these dates last year marked the beginning of the first national lockdown. This was a time at the start of the pandemic when many concerned shoppers went into panic buying mode and stripped the supermarket shelves.

This time last year we were adjusting to changes in our lifestyle, with the closure of schools and working from home. Many people were making extra trips to the supermarket to ensure their cupboards were fully stocked and prepared for lockdown.

Consumers made 117 million less trips to the supermarket this month compared with those weeks in March 2020.

To get a better picture it was important to look at the numbers relative to two year growth figures. Although the data shows grocery growth has slowed against 2020, sales are still higher than the same period in 2019. There is an increase of 15.6% compared to two years ago.

Due to restrictions on dining out, the average household spent an additional £134 on take-home groceries compared with this time two years ago.

Supermarket Performance

With the exclusion of the online only store, Ocado, the supermarket with the strongest growth during this period was Iceland. They saw a jump in sales of 14.3%.

The worst performing was Aldi with a growth of just 1.5% in the 12 week period.

Tesco sales were up by 8.5% and gained to capture 27.1% of the market, up by 0.3 percentage points year.

Asda slightly inched up its market share going from 15.0% to 15.1%.

Ocado’s sales surged and saw its growth climb 33.9%. However, online grocery sales slowed down in the past four weeks. This shows signs that shoppers are venturing back out into physical stores.

Kantar’s figures suggest that consumers made 13 million more visits to supermarkets this month compared with February.

It was noted that confidence had returned to the over 65 age group in particular. They made 143,000 fewer online orders.

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