According to Fortune Magazine and other sources, the bunny has now overtaken the scarecrow and ghost when it comes to who we spend money on.

It actually began last year, 2016, when Easter overtook the ghost holiday.  According to Fortune and the National Retail Foundation, Americans will spend a little over $2.4 billion on Easter goodies, compared with $2.1 billion for Halloween.

Here's why:

  • More people celebrate Easter with some sort of event than Halloween. 80% of Americans observe Easter, but only about 60% Halloween.
  • About 170 million people consume some sort of Easter candy or treat, compared with only about 147 million on Halloween. We're more likely to eat a chocolate bunny or peeps, than a caramel apple.
  • People tend to spend more money on Easter goodies, a lot more chocolate and expensive treats. More and more, say experts, Americans buy the 'cheap' hard sugar candies to hand out to trick-or-treaters on Halloween. Easter is viewed as more 'special' for growing numbers of people, Halloween being viewed as almost annoying by some.

Experts also say far more families plan Easter events that include everyone, as opposed to many regarding Halloween as a 'kids only' event. The money spent on Easter also includes what's laid out for Easter egg hunts.

And finally, according to Fortune, yes, 81 percent of parents admit to stealing some of their kids Easter loot.

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