Brooke Siebert
Happy Bunny Day
Now that Easter is almost here that means that people are going to start shopping for supplies. With consumers increasing the demand of Easter related goods, stores will raise their prices in order to gain a greater profit while satisfying the consumers needs. But stores will also supply more of candy, flowers, decorations and spring gear. Even though consumers might not like how high the prices are that doesn’t stop them from buying to enjoy this holiday.
This year for Easter retail stores are expecting the total revenue to be 17.3 billion on Easter gifts. According to the article Talk Business and Politics it says “Consumers will spend $5.5 billion on food, $3 billion on clothing, $2.7 billion on gifts, $2.4 billion on candy and $1.2 billion on flowers.” This means that an average person will be spending $146 on Easter gifts. With not only this holiday bringing in profit it also leads to a surplus of supplies. 
Easter is a great holiday to share with friends and family, therefore buying supplies is a big deal to make this holiday even greater. Not only does buying gifts make you as the consumer happy but also the stores you are buying from creating equilibrium. Even though Easter is a religious holiday 80% of people in the United States celebrate this holiday. Without celebrating people are losing the opportunity cost of spending time with family and friends and eating all the sugar treats.
Cited Sources:
Ogg, Jon C. "2013 Economic Impact of Easter at $17.2 Billion, Likely Undercounted." 247wallst.com. Apr. 2013. Mar. 2017.
"Retailers expect consumers to spend $17.3 billion on 2016 Easter sales." Talk Business & Politics. 21 Mar. 2016. Mar. 2017.
It is very interesting to see the different age groups who spend money on Easter. It would be interesting to see the difference between first few year parents and married couples with no kids and see what the difference in price is. That would show us a better representation of what people really spend in terms of family. As a kid we always want the best candy and Easter and Halloween are the best time to get this. Because of this it would be interesting to see what candy is bought most often during this holiday.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is interesting to see how much the price of an item is affected according to the date. the price gets higher as it comes closer to the date and after the date, the price is lowered. People that don't celebrate Easter can still buy the discounted candy, or higher priced candy if they would like causing there to be less of an opportunity cost.
ReplyDeleteI've never been one to go crazy on buying Easter gifts and decoration. However, after Easter, I always notice the decline in candy prices, and THAT'S when I get my shopping in. I think it's great revenue for places like Walgreens; however, the surplus they have after Easter could take a negative tole on them if they don't break even.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that consumers were spending $5.5 billion on food around the time of Easter. I agree that it’s interesting that the price affects the item so much. I think that Easter is almost an overly celebrated holiday because so many people celebrate it that aren’t christian. Although, it’s good for the stores because so many people buy candy around that time due to the discounted prices.
ReplyDeleteIt is crazy to see the actual numbers spent on a certain holiday. Especially for the fact that Easter is a religious holiday, as you said, however more people seem to be “celebrating” despite them not being religious. People seem to be drawn to the candy and spring treats that are only around once a year, causing the money spent on the holiday to continue to rise. It is understandable for suppliers to increase their prices during this time of year as well. In order to make a great profit on these products that are in such high demand, increasing the price will give them the best results. However, that is not in the best case for consumers who seem to purchase such products more and more despite the religion aspect.
ReplyDeleteCandy is great and the few days after Easter is when I get to shipping as the prices decrease due to the fact that many times candy production companies over supply candy and in order to get rid of it, they must decrease the prices.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that a lot of money is spent over such a religious holiday. Yes, Christmas is religious too, but that seems to be often looked over. Easter, however, is known for being solely religious. With that said, all I remember my parents ever spending money on was a little bit of candy, some fake eggs (that they bought once), and a few small gifts from the Easter Bunny. That is the most likely reason that the age 25-34 spends the most, because they have kids they need to buy presents for. However, I think that sometimes it would be smarter for people to use their expectations of price, and understand that demand will go down after the holiday, and then they can stock up on candy and non perishable items for the following Easter.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised about how much people spend on Easter treats and gifts. I think it would be interesting to see the age group or the family life of the consumers buying Easter goodies because I know that as my siblings and I are getting older, my parent's aren't spending as much money on Easter items like they did when we were much younger. I also thought it was interesting that 80% of people celebrate this holiday even though it's a religious holiday. I can imagine that they are drawn to the treats and all the deals stores have on such items.
ReplyDeleteDuring the time of Easter, stores generate so much revenue because the amount of food people buy for special Easter activities such as egg hunts, baskets, etc. Stores create strategies for themselves and create discounted prices in order to create more revenue during the holidays. This is convenient for them as well as consumers looking to buy candy for Easter.
ReplyDeletePeople are now participating in Easter festivities because stores and producers have exaggerated the fluffy bunny, the pastel colors, and the delicious candy. They are able to price their products so high because people can't avoid buying everything set out for Easter, whether they are religious or not. It's sort of like an inelastic good for people because Easter is such a prominent holiday and the high prices won't stop them from celebrating.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy the graph you incorporated that lists the breakdown of money spent on Easter for each age group. It seems that as people age, they begin to spent less and less money on Easter themed gifts and food, which is likely due to the fact that they no longer have kids in the house to provide candy and goodies for. It's crazy that the average person spends $146 on Easter, that is much more than I would've anticipated. I agree with Rachel's previous comment: Walgreens does make significant revenue around this time of year, but if they fail to sell enough produce and then lower their prices after the holiday, they could struggle to sell their surplus of goods and still make a profit. That is a slippery slope and could cause turmoil in the company if they fail to get their products noticed and pushed off the shelves.
ReplyDeleteI agree with how many people buy a lot of candy during the Easter season the amount being similar to the amount of candy that they buy during Halloween. Working at a grocery store I also find this to be true and also many of these products being on sale. Especially the companies that sell other candy year round and then adding even more candy during Easter that they can sell during this season is making even more candy. Also with the fact that many people celebrate this holiday that means that many companies are making a lot more money during this season and then Halloween also. Which overall is increasing there revenue a lot especially during Easter and Halloween time.
ReplyDeleteI never really get anything for eater but I imagine that the sales on eater baskets are lower considering that you can get them from off the streets. Also I would think the cost of eggs would fluctuate as well considering that the demand for them are higher because of people with small children.
ReplyDeleteI am in awe at how much on average person spends on easter. I am not one of those people. I wait till after the holiday when the surplus of goods has dropped down on prices. Im sure stores benefit even more off that since there are more people willing to buy the products so they get more consumers for that little bit of time.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to see how involved the United States is in Easter despite the variation of religion throughout the country. You did a good job connecting the ideas of supply and demand into business preparation for holidays like Easter. One thing that would be nice for comparison would be discussing the sharp drop in prices that occur after the holiday is over, and how companies attempt to buy just the right amount to avoid surplus later.
ReplyDeleteSeeing how much the average person spend on Easter gifts makes me feel a little better about my family spending about $200 on Easter. It was an interesting article, and I wonder how much money is being brought in by malls as well. Considering that the Easter Bunny shows up, and children want to go take a picture with him. Some families go all out when it comes to those photos. I have friends who are not Christian, and still celebrate Easter, just because it's a time to give candy, and go Easter Egg hunting. So there is a lot of money to be made around holidays.
ReplyDeleteThe amount of money spent on Easter comes as a surprise to me. Although a lot of candy is involved for things like egg hunts and in general consumption, I did not expect there to be so many more expenses to participating in the holiday. For my family the costs are much smaller for Easter, as the focus is more on just candy than anything. These smaller expenses allow for more money to be spent after Easter, when candy prices drop and we go out to buy ourselves even more sweets. The excitement for the massive discounts on Easter candies makes the days after feel like Black Friday of candy. On the more casual side of Easter, my family looks towards the better deals on candy afterwards rather than stack up on candy for Easter day.
ReplyDeleteJaeger H
I never knew how much money families spend on Easter every year. It as always been in my family that you get an Easter basket with some candy in it. But just like every holiday I noticed that once the holiday is over, the prices of all of the candy and little knick knacks drop so much in price, and then people buy even more because the prices are so low. Knowing that a holiday is coming up, gives businesses a reason to have their products over priced because they know that people are still going to buy it for the holiday especially because everything is going to be themed.
ReplyDeleteI honestly didn't know that the average person spent that much money on Easter, and now thinking about it made me realize that almost everyone goes to a store after Easter to get candy at a cheaper price. As the quantity supplied goes up and creates a surplus, the quantity demanded goes up when the surplus needs to stop and the prices lower.
ReplyDeleteThis is very creative and very true as well. You used the vocabulary correctly and it made sense and flowed well. Most people don't realize how much holidays really cost and what holidays bring to our economy. It's crazy to think about how much is actually spent and all the benefits from holidays and how it benefits people. I like how it is short and to the point and easy to understand.
ReplyDeleteIt is very surprising that one of the smallest holidays still has so much revenue revolving around it. It makes sense that the the majority of the money is spent on food though. Everyone always has easter dinners hams and whatnot. I wonder how much money is spent on eggs alone. I would imagine is makes up most of the food revenue.
ReplyDeleteDuring any holiday season, prices on goods go way up, and the day after the holiday the prices go back down. I am surprised that the Easter season makes as much as it does though.
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