EASTER WORTH £7.8BN TO RETAILERS

2 April 2007

EASTER 2007 – SPENDING STATISTICS

• Easter 2007 is estimated to be worth £7.8 billion to UK retailers, a 4% rise from 2006.
• An estimated £4.3 billion will be spent in the week running up to Easter, with approximately a further £3.5 billion spent over the Easter weekend.
• In Easter week (up to and including Easter Saturday), consumers will spend £832 million more than in an average week in April.
• On average, each household will spend £350 over the Easter weekend.
• Clothing and Footwear retailers are set to benefit this year, with an estimated £670 million being spent over the holiday weekend.
• Chocolate sales are expected to reach £426 million this Easter, 10% of the UK's annual chocolate sales.
• Easter eggs make up approximately 8% of the UK's annual spend on chocolate, with an estimated £336 million being sold this Easter.
• An estimated £94 million of Fair Trade chocolate will be bought this year, with consumers spending £75 million on Fair Trade chocolate Easter eggs.
• Dark chocolate is becoming more popular, with consumers buying an estimated £119 million of dark chocolate and £95 million worth of dark chocolate Easter eggs, a rise of over 20% from last year.
• Consumers are likely to spend £3.1 billion on food & drink in the week up to and including Easter Saturday, a little over £100 million more than last year.
• DIY and Gardening retailers are set to benefit from an estimated 6 million consumers spending a total of £2.9 billion.
• An estimated £100 million will be spent on flowers and plants. Daffodils are the traditional flower of choice, while Easter branches are becoming very popular.
• Approximately 8 million Easter cards will be sent at a total value of £22 million.

BRC Director General, Kevin Hawkins, commented: "Easter generally marks the end of the toughest quarter in the retail calendar. After using the first few months in the New Year to service post-Christmas debt and consolidate savings, consumers tend to feel a bit more relaxed about splashing out over Easter.

"Alongside traditional favourites like chocolate eggs, daffodils and cards we expect to see continued growth in the popularity of dark and Fairtrade chocolate. But Easter isn't just a good time for confectioners and stationers. The four-day break provides plenty of shopping opportunities and, with good weather, we expect to see summer clothing and footwear lines start to move well. Easter is also the unofficial start to the DIY and gardening season and a lot of us will be looking to make a start on all those jobs we've been putting off over winter, particularly if we get three or four days of sunshine."

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