Stay ahead of the curve and future-proof your business with Mintel’s UK Easter Market Report 2024. Our full report is packed with consumer-led market intelligence, the latest Easter market research, trends, and consumer spending behaviours during the seasonal holiday. Get a 360° view of the outlook for Easter 2025, with forecasted growth to help you align your business strategy with the needs of your audience.
Below, we’ve handpicked the key insights analysed in the full report and summarised the core topics.
Key Topics Discussed in the Full Report
- Estimated market size and breakdown of Easter spending.
- The outlook for the Easter market in 2025.
- Number purchasing gifts for Easter and products purchased as gifts.
- New product development and innovations for the Easter market 2024.
- Perceptions of own-label chocolate Easter products.
- How shoppers bought Easter gifts in 2024.
- Easter spending and shopping behaviours.
Easter Market Review and Outlook
While financial worries meant Easter 2024 was a lower priority for 49% of gift buyers, almost seven in ten of consumers still purchased gifts. Instead of opting out entirely, people managed costs by buying gifts on discount and by hand crafting their own gifts, demonstrating that even in tough times, gift-giving remained an important element of Easter celebrations.
- Easter spending: Easter spending grew 5.1% in 2024.
A continued improvement in financial confidence over the next year will create a more positive environment for the Easter market in 2025. Value will still be important and promotions ahead of the event will continue to drive demand, but a more financially secure consumer base may give greater opportunity to trade shoppers up while some pre-planning to find the best deal may fall away meaning more last minute demand.
Readers of this report may also be interested in our UK Mother’s Day Market Report 2024, or our range of Seasonal Holidays Market Research.
Meet the Expert
Emily Viberg is a Retail analyst specialising in writing Mintel’s seasonal shopping and gifting reports.
Easter 2024 saw an uptick in purchasing of gifts. However, financial worries were still high on the agenda, with shoppers trading down, utilising discounts, and turning to homemade gifts.
Emily Viberg
Retail analyst
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Executive Summary
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Overview
- Opportunities for Easter 2025
- A more promising outlook for Easter 2025
- Stand out with gifting mixes that highlight sustainability
- Position post-Easter chocolate discounts as a way to keep customers indulging
- Market dynamics and outlook
- Easter spending grows 5.1% in 2024
- Improvement in confidence fuels Easter spending
- Consumer sentiment: wellbeing is up but the recovery has slowed
- Graph 1: the financial wellbeing index, 2016-24
- What consumers want and why
- Rising confidence fuels Easter participation in 2024
- Graph 2: overall Easter gift purchasing, 2019-24
- Overall Easter gifting trends remain stable in 2024
- Graph 3: gifts purchased for Easter, 2023-24
- Easter shoppers favour buying gifts in stores
- Graph 4: how Easter gifts were purchased, 2019-24
- Grocers own-label products benefit from positive perceptions amongst consumers
- Graph 5: perceptions of own-label Easter chocolate products, 2024
- Easter falls down the priority list due to financial concerns
- Graph 6: the impact of the cost-of-living on Easter shopping behaviours, 2024
- Almost half had a special meal at home for Easter in 2024
- Graph 7: Easter gift shopping behaviours, 2024
- Retailer activity
- Ethical packaging dominates claims for Easter NPD in the UK
- Graph 8: Easter launch activity, by top ten claims, 2022-24
- Private label leads Easter NPD in 2024
- Advertising spend between January and April 2024 remained stable
- Graph 9: total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure by all retailers in January-April, 2020-24
- TV dominates advertising spending
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Market Dynamics
- Market size
- Easter spending grows 5.1% in 2024
- Improvement in confidence fuels Easter spending
- In-home food and drink accounted for 37.5% of Easter spending in 2024
- Easter spending boosted by chocolate despite reports on soaring cocoa costs
- Macro-economic factors
- Falling inflation has reduced pressure on household finances
- Graph 10: CPI inflation rate, 2021-24
- Consumer sentiment: wellbeing is up but the recovery has slowed
- Graph 11: the financial wellbeing index, 2016-24
- Consumer confidence continued to trend upwards
- Graph 12: the financial confidence index, 2016-24
- Food and drink prices still top the list of consumer concerns
- Graph 13: cost of living related issues noticed in the last two months, 2024
- Rising prices threatens discretionary spending
- Graph 14: “Are you expecting to do any of the following as a result of rising prices? Please select all that apply.”, 2024
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What Consumers Want and Why
- Gifts purchased for Easter 2024
- Rising confidence fuels Easter participation in 2024
- Graph 15: total Easter gift purchasing, 2019-24
- 16-34 remain keen Easter gift shoppers
- Graph 16: Easter gift purchasing, by age group, 2020-24
- Affluent consumers boost Easter engagement in 2024
- Graph 17: Easter gift purchasing, by household income, 2020-24
- Gifts purchased and channels shopped for Easter 2024
- Overall Easter gifting trends remain stable in 2024
- Graph 18: gifts purchased for Easter, 2023-24
- Easter shoppers favour buying gifts in stores
- Graph 19: how they bought Easter gifts, 2019-24
- Convenience and inspiration are key for in-store gift shoppers
- Younger shoppers show confidence in Easter gift buying across channels
- Graph 20: how Easter gifts were bought, by age group, 2024
- 16-34s lead online shopping across Easter gifting categories in 2024
- Graph 21: Easter purchasing, by age group, 2024
- Make shopping for Easter eggs in-store a bonding experience between children and mothers
- Help make choosing to shop for chocolate eggs in-store easy for mothers
- Make shopping for flowers online tech-driven for male shoppers…
- …with customer-facing technology tools
- Perceptions of own-label Easter chocolate products
- Opportunity exists for more experiential and adult focus chocolate products
- Continued investment in own-label Easter chocolate products is poised to drive the category’s growth
- Grocers own-label products benefit from positive perceptions amongst consumers
- Graph 22: perceptions of own-label Easter chocolate products, 2024
- A more age inclusive Easter boosts innovation for chocolate options suited for adults
- Transparency avoids disappointing shoppers
- Grocers own-label chocolate products stand out as innovative and giftable amongst younger consumers
- Graph 23: perceptions of own-label Easter chocolate products, by age group, 2024
- Manage 45-54’s expectations through clearly labelled packaging
- Help shoppers make informed decision when buying own-label chocolate products
- Highlight quality of ingredients to encourage higher earners to buy own-labelled chocolate products
- Demonstrate value credential to higher earners by focusing on premium ingredients
- Cost-savvy Easter shopping behaviours
- Financial concerns lead to cost-savvy Easter shopping behaviours
- Easter becomes less of a priority for many due to financial concerns in 2024
- Financial pressure impacts Easter gifting for lower income households
- Graph 24: cost-saving Easter behaviours, by household income, 2024
- Families with young children look to reuse Easter decorations
- Graph 25: ‘I bought Easter decorations that I can reuse’, by age of children in a household, 2024
- Financial pressure causes younger consumers to DIY Easter gifts in 2024
- DIY-ing Easter gifts is a form of self-expression for younger consumers
- Retailers help make Easter DIY easy and affordable
- Easter gift shopping behaviours
- Almost half had a special meal at home for Easter in 2024
- Rising confidence paves the way for retailers to elevate Easter meals at home
- Higher earners enjoy a special meal at home for Easter
- Graph 26: ‘I had a special meal at home for Easter this year’, by household income, 2024
- Families with young children drive interest for in-store Easter gift workshops
- Graph 27: ‘I would be interested in attending an Easter gift-making workshop hosted by a retailer’, by age of children in a household, 2024
- 16-34s more likely to be drawn to eye-catching in-store displays
- Graph 28: ‘eye-catching in-store Easter displays would make me shop at one retailer over another’, by age group, 2024
- Keep engaging 25-34s after Easter with special discounts on left over chocolate products
- Special discounts on left over chocolate products gives young consumers a chance to keep indulging
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Retailer Activity
- Easter new product development and innovation
- Ethical packaging dominates claims for Easter NPD in the UK
- Graph 29: Easter launch activity, by top ten claims, 2022-2024
- Divine launches new range of Easter chocolates in ‘40% less packaging’
- Private label leads Easter NPD in 2024
- Graph 30: Easter launch activity, private label vs branded, 2019-24
- Grocers dominate Easter NPD in the UK in 2024
- Graph 31: Easter launch activity by top 15 brands, 2022-2024
- M&S helps consumers recycle hard to recycle plastics with clear on pack instructions
- Advertising and marketing activity
- Advertising between January-April remains stable in 2024
- Graph 32: total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure by all retailers in January-April, 2020-24
- Tesco leading advertiser for January-April in 2024
- Graph 33: total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure by top advertisers in January-April 2024
- Tesco highlights Whoosh ahead of Easter 2024
- TV dominates advertising spending
- Graph 34: recorded above-the-line, online display and direct mail total advertising expenditure by all retailers, by advertising method in January-April 2024
- Asda’s ‘As tasty as M&S’ Easter campaign in 2024
- Hobbycraft’s ‘Hop to Hobbycraft’ Easter 2024 campaign
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Appendix
- Report scope and definitions
- Data sources
- Abbreviations and terms
- Methodology
- Consumer research methodology
- Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
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