Your Easter Basket is shrinking as candy prices jump
(WDEF) – Americans are finding that their Easter baskets have been shrinking over the last few years according to information from InvestorsObserver.
They crunched the numbers on candy prices for the last five years.
And they found that Easter candy prices have risen 67% since 2020, but our budgets for Easter candy has only gone up 15%.
So we’re spending far more on far less candy this season.
They compared the average Easter basket from 2020 and found we’re now getting 40% less candy by weight.
Or, if you want the same amount of chocolate, you will spend $62 more this year.
It has happened little by little so most consumers haven’t noticed.
“It’s the classic boiling frog scenario that actually shows up in groceries year-round. You don’t jump out of the pot because the water heats up one degree at a time. Each individual increase feels tolerable – annoying, maybe, but not catastrophic. So you adjust. By the time you realize how hot the water has gotten, you’ve already lost significant purchasing power,” explained Sam Bourgi, senior analyst at InvestorsObserver.
Easter candy has also suffered from shrinkflation.
Cadbury Mini Eggs chose to shrink their product by an ounce instead of increasing the price.
The biggest price jump hit Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bars.. they’ve more than doubled over the last six years.
“When a price drops and then spikes even higher, it feels more unfair than a steady increase. The drop resets your expectations (you think things are getting better) which makes the spike feel manipulative rather than just market-driven,” said Bourgi.
