Numerator has released a consumer sentiment study to understand how people plan to celebrate, shop and spend for Easter 2021.

Overall, 2 in 5 consumers (39 percent) plan to celebrate at home due to COVID-19 concerns, one-third (32 percent) plan to do their shopping online, and one-third (33 percent) plan to spend less than previous Easter holidays.

The consumer sentiment survey of 3,100 verified shoppers shows the following findings:

• 1 in 5 consumers (22 percent) say their Easter plans are unaffected by the pandemic. 
• 3 in 5 consumers (60 percent) say they will either stay home or limit contact with others this Easter, due to COVID-19 concerns. 
• 71 percent of consumers say they typically gather with friends and family for Easter, but less than half (42 percent) plan to do so this year, a drop of 29 percentage points. 
• Attending or hosting egg hunts, buying gifts and traveling are all down significantly from prior years at -22, -10 and -8 percentage points, respectively. 
• Ordering takeout/delivery food was the only celebration method to see an increase from previous years (up from 2 percent to 4 percent in 2021). 

Numerator also reports changes in how consumers plan to celebrate Easter:

Percentage of respondents selecting:

As for Easter gifts and spending, Numerator reports the following:

• Candy remains the most popular Easter gift, with 90 percent planning to purchase for Easter 2021, down slightly from 93 percent for prior years. 
• Toys remain the second most popular Easter gift, but the number of people planning to purchase for 2021 is down 11 percentage points (64 percent in 2021 vs. 75 percent in prior years). 
• Half of gift givers (51 percent) plan to purchase food for Easter gifts, remaining consistent with previous years (51 percent). 
• Spa products see a +5 point increase (20 percent in 2021 vs. 15 percent in previous years), perhaps due to consumers shifting in-person spa treatments to their homes. 
• Clothes (-9 points), accessories (-5 points), flowers (-4 points), jewelry (-2 points), and electronics (-2 points) all see declines in planned gift giving for 2021. Alcohol remains flat with 7 percent of gift givers planning to buy in 2021. 
• More than half plan to do their Easter shopping at grocery stores (54 percent), while 50 percent plan to do so at mass retailers, 33 percent at dollar stores, 32 percent at online retailers, 17 percent at club stores, and 14 percent at drug stores.