Easter Spending Ranks Smack in the Middle
Since it is Easter week, and since consumers will have spent nearly $15 billion on the holiday before the week is finished, I thought it would be interesting to see how Easter ranks with other major holidays in terms of spending.
It falls smack in the middle, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF), which charts nine holidays and events with regard to spending at retail stores.
The most spending occurs -- no surprise -- around Christmas and the other winter holidays when shoppers hand over $460.90 billion to retailers. At the low end of the spectrum, St. Patrick's Day spending comes in at $3.64 billion.
Just ahead of Easter on the top side are back-to-school/college spending, $65.69 billion; Valentine's Day, $17.02 billion; and Mother's Day, $15.73 billion.
Just below Easter on the down side are Father's Day, $9.90 billion; Super Bowl, $9.47 billion; Halloween, $5.07 billion; and the previously mentioned St. Pat's Day.
It shall be interesting to see if the tax rebate checks the government will mail out shortly will prompt another round of consumer spending.
A February NRF survey indicated that consumers plan to spend 40.6 percent of their tax rebate checks, providing a $42.9 billion boost to the economy. With gas prices at record highs, will consumers still feel like spending when the checks finally arrive?
We will know soon enough.
