Australians forecast to spend an egg-cellent $8.6 billion this Easter

Easter is set to be a cracking period for tourism operators and retail businesses, with $8.6 billion to be spent on holiday bookings and a copious amount of chocolate.

According to research by the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and Roy Morgan, more than four million Australians have planned a trip during the festive four-day weekend and are expected to spend a total $7.1 billion.

Shoppers are likely to spend a further $1.5 billion indulging in hot cross buns and chocolate, with 73 per cent of survey respondents saying they plan to buy easter food.

ARA CEO Paul Zahra said Easter is a time for family get togethers, travel, and specialist food like easter eggs, which will be in hot demand this year. 

“This is a significant boost for tourism operators and local businesses who’ve been doing it tough these past two years,” Zahra said.

“Travel plans were discarded in 2020 and 2021 due to the various snap lockdowns, and last Christmas was disrupted by Omicron.

“With minimal COVID restrictions in place and Australia’s high vaccination rate providing safety and confidence, people are now starting to go back to more regular holiday and social activities.”

While the majority (63 per cent) of Australians will be travelling within their own state during the long weekend, 34 per cent have planned trips interstate and a further 3 per cent will be heading overseas.

Australians aged between 35-49 are anticipated to spend an average of $2,000 on their Easter holidays, spending a total of $2.6 billion – the most of any age group.

People in New South Wales are anticipated to fork out the most of any state, averaging a spend of $104 to reach almost $500 million in easter food transactions.

Trailing behind are Victorians, who will spend an average $100 and inject approximately $400 million into the economy.

Of the consumers planning to buy easter food, approximately two-thirds will spend similar amounts as last year, with 22 per cent to spend less and 12 per cent to spend more.

Paul said DIY projects around the home and garden will also be popular for the Easter long weekend, as it will be the last break for many before winter sets in.

“People who aren’t going away traditionally use this time to upgrade things around the house that they’ve been putting off for months due to their busy work schedules,” he said.