Recession Even Slows Down the Easter Bunny

It appears as if no one is safe from these difficult economic times — even the Easter Bunny. According to the 2009 Easter Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey from the consumer market intelligence firm BIGresearch, Americans will spend an average of $116.59 on Easter candy, gifts, food and decorations this year, down from $135.03 last year.

The survey was conducted March 3-10, and polled 8,498 consumers. Here are some more findings of the survey:

total spending on Easter is expected to reach $12.73 billion;
Americans’ largest Easter expense will be in preparing a meal, with the average person expected to spend $37.67 on food, down from $41.09 last year;
respondents also said they will spend less on gifts ($17.30 vs. $21.42 in 2008), candy ($16.55 vs. $18.12) and flowers ($7.55 vs. $9.11);
64 percent said they'll shop at discounters this year, up from 58.8 percent last year; and
32.5 percent said they'll opt for their favorite department stores for Easter merchandise, followed by specialty stores (22.5 percent), online (11.4 percent) and specialty clothing stores (5.9 percent).