Seven eggs per head

Food is the most important Easter custom for the Viennese

88 percent of all Viennese celebrate Easter with presents. However, the most important thing for them is good food: For two thirds of them, the traditional Easter snack is a must. All other Easter traditions are not nearly as important to the Viennese.

The Viennese's desire for traditional Easter food is reflected in impressive figures: "At the end of the Easter weekend, an impressive 14 million dyed eggs and five million chocolate bunnies are given away in Vienna - that makes seven Easter eggs and at least two chocolate bunnies per person," calculates Margarete Gumprecht, Chairwoman of the Trade Division of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce. This year, as every year, sweets remain the number one gift in the Easter nest.

Three out of ten go looking for Easter eggs
According to a survey conducted by SME Research, those Viennese who celebrate Easter also love tradition apart from the Easter snack: four out of ten households have an Easter ritual of pecking eggs, and almost as many put up an Easter tree at home. A third of all respondents dye their own Easter eggs and three out of ten organize an Easter egg hunt. Particularly important for retailers: Easter is the biggest gift-giving occasion after Christmas and birthdays - and even more important for Viennese stores, as purchases are mainly made in bricks-and-mortar stores.

There used to be more hares
As in the previous year, the average spend on gifts, sweets, festive food and decorations is EUR 50 per person in Vienna. Gifts for children or grandchildren may even cost an average of 70 euros, which is also in line with previous figures. The one or other chocolate bunny is likely to have grown smaller this year despite the amount remaining the same: Last year's 50 euros is only worth around 45 euros this year. Either way, Viennese retailers are looking forward to an additional turnover of around 55 million euros from Easter gifts this year.