Easter grocery sales will grow 3.7% to £775m this year according to retail and shopper marketing agency, Savvy.

The company, which has run campaigns for Morrisons, Kerry and Britvic among others, predicted the acceleration after an online survey of the main shoppers in 1,000 households.

“While the core mid-market for eggs remains incredibly competitive on price, especially as value retailers continue to scale up their Easter offers, demand for premium eggs looks set to build on the momentum set by the likes of M&S and Hotel Chocolat last year,” said Savvy insight director Alastair Lockhart,

“Also of note for 2016, it’s interesting to see that shoppers are planning specific visits to the discounters this Easter. Aldi in particular is delivering bigger events, supported by growing ranges and stronger in-store execution.”

But Lockhart concluded the earliness of Easter this year could affect sales, with some schools not breaking up until after the weekend.

“The big question this year is whether an early Easter - where many schools will be open between Easter weekend and the Easter holidays - will dampen shopper enthusiasm,” he said. “We expect many shoppers will leave their shopping to Good Friday and Saturday.”

The survey showed 69% of shoppers thought Easter was a special occasion and 72% were looking forward to spending time with their families.

Almost 80% planned to buy an Easter egg, with 27% buying chocolate, 18% purchasing an Easter cake and 28% buying ingredients for a roast dinner.

In terms of where they would be shopping, more than two thirds (68%) said they knew where they could find the best value eggs; 51% usually planned in advance what they would be buying for the Easter weekend; 34% planned to trade up to purchase more expensive food and drinks for the weekend; and 42% said they would be shopping at a discounter for Easter eggs and dinner ingredients.

More than 30% planned to buy Easter products and cards at the last minute and 29% would spend more on Easter goods this year.

Among shoppers’ wish lists for Easter were food sampling (47%), new ideas to try such as recipes (44%), in store egg hunts (29%) and inspiration for things to do with kids (26%).

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