A record $24.9 billion was forecast for Easter 2026 spending, with shoppers budgeting a record $195.59 per person, according to the National Retail Federation's annual survey released on March 24, 2026 — up 5.5 percent from 2025, with Easter falling on April 5. Record forecasts for minor holidays have become routine, so the number itself is less interesting than its composition: most of that money is food and clothing, not gifts, which makes Easter the rare "holiday sale" that is really a grocery and apparel event in disguise.
Where the record actually goes
The NRF's category breakdown has been stable for years, and 2026 follows it: food leads, followed by clothing, gifts, candy and decorations, with flowers riding along. That mix matters for how you read the headline. A record $195.59 per person is not discretionary splurging on objects — it is largely the cost of hosting a meal and dressing a family, categories where inflation does the growing for the survey. When food prices rise, per-person Easter spending rises mechanically, and a "record" can mean you bought the same ham for more money.
Are there real Easter sales, or just the word sale?
Genuine seasonal discounts around Easter are narrow. Spring apparel gets honest markdowns as retailers clear transitional stock before summer lines land, and candy drops sharply the day after the holiday — post-Easter clearance on seasonal confectionery and decorations routinely runs 50 percent off within 48 hours. What does not get genuinely discounted is the core of the holiday: groceries, where loss-leader hams and egg promotions are designed to pull you into the store for a full cart of full-priced items. The weekday after Easter is the single most reliable discount moment in the entire event.
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Why surveys measure plans, not receipts
The NRF figure is a survey of what people said they expected to spend, collected before the holiday. Actual spending routinely differs — sometimes above the forecast, sometimes below — and the survey includes the majority of consumers who celebrate, with a long tail who report spending something even when they do not celebrate. Treat the $195.59 as a benchmark for comparison against your own basket, not as a target. If your total is far below it because you hosted potluck or skipped new clothes, the record is not a bill you owe.
The practical playbook for next spring
If you host: buy the meal on promotion in the ten days before the holiday, when grocers discount the centerpiece proteins hardest. If you decorate or buy seasonal candy: wait until the Monday after, accept the reduced selection, and store what keeps. If you buy spring clothing: the best prices arrive in the two weeks after the holiday, not before it. Easter is a spending record because it lands where food, fashion and florals overlap — none of those categories reward shopping early.
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