Food, drink, clothing and footwear will all benefit
This Easter is estimated to be worth£7.8 billion to UK retailers - a 4 per cent rise on last year, according to the British Retail Consortium.

An estimated£4.3 billion will be spent in the week running up to Easter and a further£3.5 billion over the Easter weekend.

Chocolate sales are expected to reach£426 million - 10 per cent of the UK's annual chocolate sales - with Easter eggs making up about 8 per cent of the annual spend on chocolate.

Sales of fair-trade chocolate are also forecast to hit£94 million, with consumers spending£75 million on fair-trade Easter eggs.

However, clothing and footwear retailers are also set to benefit this year, with an estimated£670 million being spent over the holiday weekend. DIY and gardening retailers are expected to have about 6 million customers spending a total of£2.9 billion.

Consumers are forecast to spend£3.1 billion on food and drink - over£100 million more than last year - in the week up to and including Easter Saturday.

BRC director-general Kevin Hawkins said: 'Easter generally marks the end of the toughest quarter in the retail calendar. After using the first few months in the new year to service post-Christmas debt and consolidate savings, consumers tend to feel a bit more relaxed about splashing out over Easter.

'The four-day break provides plenty of shopping opportunities and, with good weather, we expect to see summer clothing and footwear lines start to move well. Easter is also the unofficial start to the DIY and gardening season.'

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