New Data Shows People Spent A Record Amount On Their Easter Candy This Year
Now that the Easter bunny has come and gone and all the eggs have (hopefully) been found, it was truly a holiday for the record books. Or, at least, it was a record holiday when it comes to Easter candy and how much Americans spent on filling those baskets.
From chocolate bunnies to jelly beans and Easter eggs, it's easy to spend a lot of money on Easter candy. And a new survey from the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics shows just how committed to the holiday Americans are.
According to the NRF (via Food Navigator), Americans spent a record $24 billion on the holiday this year, topping the previous record from 2020, which was more than $21 billion. It's not just America as a whole that went cash-crazy, either. The average individual spend this year was $192 — that's a lot of Easter treats to go around.
Candy was a huge piece of the pie
Of that $24 billion that Americans spent on Easter 2023, it's not surprising that most of it went to Easter candy. A total of $3.3 billion was spent on candy alone. And while many people may try to hit the stores the day after for discounted sweets, it's clear that the chocolate bunny business is booming. Customers spent even more than the $3.1 billion that went to Halloween candy last year, making Easter the ultimate candy holiday.
Of course, chocolate wasn't the only area where big money was spent. Easter dinner is no cheap feat, and this year, Americans spent more than double what they did on candy, with $7.3 billion going to food.
The dedication to food makes sense. Cooking an Easter meal was the most popular activity, with 56% surveyed saying they planned to serve a big family meal. Americans may be spending record amounts of money, but clearly, gathering the family and sharing food and sweets makes the holiday.