Easter / Punctuality has changed everything – Easter in the city, with smaller tables

Her imprint is strong accuracy at Easter consumption habitsas citizens this year head to purchases of smaller quantities, but also the selection of different ones “cuts” for types of meat, compared to last year, according to IELKA (Consumer Goods Retail Research Institute)

Of particular interest is IELKA’s research on the markets of his period Easter in the context of the recording of nutritional and consumption trends in Greece carried out on March 2024 with a sample of 800 consumers from all over Greece.

As shown in Figure 1, changes are recorded in consumers’ predictions regarding what they will do this Easter. Specifically:

• 1 in 4 households (26%) declare that they will travel on Easter outside the urban centers to a village or island. This percentage in the previous decade even reached 53%.
• Family tables these days will be smaller than in the past. 43% declare that they will participate in large family tables of more than 10 people. This percentage is up from 40% in 2023, but clearly down from 67% in 2019.
• The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) trend in cooking and baking is on the rise. In other words, consumers choose to make their own sweets and other Easter items in higher percentages than in the past. The percentage who will make sweets at home rises from 43% to 50% and dyeing eggs rises from 62% to 79%.
• As for lamb and goat, lamb spitting although an increase is recorded in relation to 2023, compared to the past, the rates are low. In particular, 33% say they will skewer lamb compared to 32% in 2023, when the percentage in 2019 was 67%. Baking in the oven is recorded increased from 40% to 46%. This development combined with the reduced number of people at the family table translates into considerations for purchasing smaller quantities, but also the choice of different “cuts” for the types of meat by consumers. 42% state that they will buy lamb or goat from the butcher, while 31% from the supermarket.
• Finally, a reduced percentage of 9% (against 12% in 2023) declares that they will have an Easter meal in the catering industry.

Figure 1: Changes in Easter shopping and consumption habits

Regarding the Easter markets in particular:

• The majority of purchases will take place during Holy Week (Figure 2). In particular, only 35% will make the purchases earlier. 4% will shop next weekend, 53% during Holy Week and 9% at the last minute.
• Total spending on Easter shopping is expected to remain stable (figure 3) with a downward trend based on consumer responses. 40% estimate that they will reduce their purchases, while 34% that they will increase them. 26% believe that it will remain unchanged.
• Finally, on average, it is estimated that this year’s Easter expenditure per household (figure 4) will amount to 190 euros, 120 euros for groceries and 70 euros for other items, such as e.g. gifts.