The research says 58% of consumers plan to buy branded Easter eggs this year.
The research, commissioned by Webloyalty and carried out by analysts Conlumino, found that Thorntons was the most popular brand of Easter egg, with 31% of respondents naming it as one of the top three Easter eggs they would like to receive, and 12% naming it as their first choice.
Lindt also polled highly, with 14% of consumers listing it as their first choice of Easter egg, and 28% naming it in their top three.
Among the other popular brands were Creme Egg, Ferrero Rocher, Dairy Milk and Green & Blacks.
Supermarkets are losing out to big brands, as 58% of respondents said they will mainly or exclusively buy branded Easter eggs, whereas only 12% will opt for supermarket labels mainly or exclusively. Nonetheless, there is still a significant segment of consumers, 33% of respondents, who recognise that own label Easter eggs are just as good as branded ones.
“The fact that most Easter egg shoppers prefer to go for the big brands, even though many admit that the supermarket’s own label may be just as good, suggests that this preference is not necessarily related to quality or price but more to the consumer’s personal associations with and loyalties to particular brands, which are powerful factors in the shopper’s decision-making,” said Guy Chiswick, MD of Webloyalty Northern Europe.
Despite Webloyalty’s research forecasting a 3.2% rise in retail spend (from £4.22bn to £4.36bn) and a 4.5% rise in food and drink spend (from £2bn to £2.1bn) over Easter this year, compared with 2013, these latest findings suggest that today’s price-savvy and value-conscious shopper is disillusioned by the amount of money spent on the occasion. For instance, 73% of people said they think Easter is too commercialised. This is certainly the case for Easter eggs, with 66% of respondents agreeing that they are poor value for money.
This disillusionment with the commercialisation of Easter is part of wider increasing apathy about Easter in the UK. 79% of the study’s respondents said that Easter isn’t important to them. Less than 30% of respondents agree that Easter is an important celebration.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024