Consumer spending figures egg-cellent

19.03.08

Research by Nielsen found that shoppers will spend £4.4bn in the four days before the bank holiday, with a further £3.6bn being spent over the Easter weekend.

The highest expenditure will be on food and drink, with £4.2bn being spent over the eight days. Almost £280m will be spent on Easter eggs alone, with a further £20m being spent on hot cross buns – 10% more than in the same period last year.

And while almost £3bn will be spent on DIY and gardening, it is less than last year, when a heat wave boosted trade.

However, there have been signs that consumers are cutting back – Easter egg sales grew by just 9% during the first two weeks of the six week Easter trading period, compared to a 16% growth last year.

Stephen Robertson, the British Retail Consortium’s director general, said the early Easter could be a mixed blessing for retailers.

“With personal finances under pressure and evidence that customers are cutting back on non-essentials, retailers are eager for the Easter boost. But the predicted poor weather is likely to mean a March Easter is weaker than last year's warm and sunny April one,” he said.

Mike Watkins, senior manager of retailer services at Nielsen, added: “This year it's difficult for retailers to know how strong trading will be with consumer spending being squeezed.

“Easter growths are considerably slower in a number of sectors compared with the first two weeks of Easter in 2007. It's possible that any last-minute rush to buy food and indulgences will be less marked than last year, when the weather was unseasonably warm.”

© Crimson Business Ltd. 2008