According to retail analysts MRI Springboard, Easter gave retailers across the board, to include gift retailers, a much needed boost as weekly footfall surged by 14.2% across all UK retail destinations in the week leading to Easter Sunday.
Good Friday exceeded all expectations with footfall up 26.8% across UK high streets. Warm sunny weather helped footfall surge across coastal towns, where it increased by 61.4% on Good Friday compared to the previous week.
“Easter this year was the same weekend we celebrated our first anniversary of the expansion of Bill & Bert’s, and Good Friday trade was exceptional as was trade on Saturday 8 April,” enthuses Bill Nettelfield, owner of Bill & Bert’s in Colchester. “Bearing in mind the rain, Easter Monday was also well up on last year.”
Continued Bill: “Easter sales went right across the board. We found that if a gift was being bought then it was more likely to have been from the Jellycat Easter range, or candles from Lily Flame or wax melts from Freckleface. A lot of food gifting went really well too, especially from Cartwright and Butler, along with cocktail mixes. By contrast, some of the slowest sellers were items that could be considered to be Easter decorations etc.”
At Lark, which has 12 stores across South and West London, as well as a new store in Woking, co-owner Priya Aurora-Crowe explained: “Easter was great apart from the weather. We had a record Thursday and Friday before everyone fled London! We sold lots of small pocket money toys for all those Easter Egg hunts, and luxurious homewear for the hosts that were busy cooking away!”
At Presentation Cards & Gifts in Barrowford, it was a similar story. “Our Easter sales certainly beat all expectations,” stated owner Andrea Pinder. “Our card sales were strong as was gift buying. Children’s gifts were strong on Jellycat bunnies and Rachel Ellen colouring books with colouring pens, while children’s books across the board did really well, alongside Peter Rabbit products from Enesco.” Added Andrea: Chocolates are strong in general, however, this Easter, we sold a lot of Sarunds chocolates.”
In the week leading up to Easter, Heidi Hopkinson, owner of Serendipity House in Kirkham, gave a raffle ticket to everyone spending over £10, with the prize the giant Jellycat bunny. The lucky winner was revealed last Thursday (6 April), when an Easter bunny hopped into the shop to do the honours.
Meanwhile, a 2 page Easter article by Sarah Rainey in the Daily Mail (5 April), compared this year’s Easter to Christmas, highlighting the myriad of Easter-led products available, to include trees, decorations and tree lights, as well as crackers, stockings and wreaths, with Gisela Graham highlighted for its faux twig wreath with egg ornaments.
Top: Part of Bill & Bert’s Easter window.
