Shopping habits are changing for the Easter festival
FOOD THAT shoppers stock up on over the Easter weekend is changing, according to new industry research.
Research from IGD suggests that Easter fare of what shoppers are choosing to eat this weekend could be evolving.
While lamb remains the national preference, 20 per cent, other Easter alternatives are rising in popularity too. This Easter, nearly as many shoppers are planning to cook fish as a main dish, 12 per cent, as they are chicken, 13 per cent, with twice as many women planning to buy fish this weekend than men. Beef, 8 per cent, and pork, 6 per cent, are also on the menu.
Some shoppers are even moving on from the conventional Easter Sunday lunch, with 26 per cent opting for weekend-long celebrations that extend beyond cooking one big meal, and a fifth admitting to having not made plans in the week leading up to the event, 21 per cent.
In addition, over four in ten, 43 per cent, food and grocery shoppers admit to treating the holiday as just a long weekend.
Provenance will also play a part this bank holiday, with 17 per cent of shoppers saying they buy more British sourced food and grocery products at Easter.
Vanessa Henry, shopper insight manager at IGD, said: “Our research shows a clear move away from the traditional Easter celebrations that centre around cooking one main meal on the Sunday of the bank holiday weekend with lamb being the conventional choice.
“Instead, shoppers are now viewing the holiday as a four-day event that brings with it multiple opportunities for meals and entertaining, one key part of which is experimenting with alternative main meal options such as fish.
“Retailers should see this as an opportunity to drive a broader range of different meal occasions instead of just the traditional one celebratory meal, and the spontaneous nature of shopper planning for the holiday means businesses can successfully engage with their customers up until the last minute to influence and support with meal planning.”