There’s an Easter egg shortage in the UK and people can’t handle it

As if this year hasn’t been bad enough already, there’s now appears to be an Easter egg shortage blighting the UK.

Well, sort of.

Disappointed shoppers have been sharing pictures of empty shelves in the Easter-themed aisles of some supermarkets, alongside anecdotes of their struggle to find chocolate treats for their loved ones (or themselves, absolutely no judgement here).

Some people have responded, suggesting it’s not unusual for there to be no Easter eggs left on, err, Easter Sunday (especially if you leave the gift buying until this rather late stage).

But this year does appear to be different to usual, with experts reporting that the easing of lockdown restrictions triggered a rush for Easter eggs that hasn’t been seen in the past few years.

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According to figures from analysts Kantar, British households had already spent £37 million on hot cross buns and £153 million on eggs by March 21 – £48 million more than at two weeks prior to Easter last year, when lockdown put a stop to family get-togethers and Easter egg hunts.

Marks & Spencer also reported it had seen sales of Easter products rocket by 3000% on last year.

The analysis seems to be reflected in people’s experiences, with one shopper sharing this rather sad scene from her local supermarket:

Others relayed their experiences of a failed Easter egg hunt:

As the situation became apparent, some came up with creative ways to get around the issue.

Some users drew comparisons with last year’s toilet paper shortage when people began stockpiling at the start of the pandemic.

One shopper tweeted: “I thought the toilet paper shortage of 2020 was bad, but now we have the Easter egg shortage of 2021! All the shops have sold out … It is an outrage!”

And a thread on Mumsnet entitled “Easter eggs – none left” had more than 750 posts on Sunday, with parents detailing their failed attempts to secure Easter eggs.

Ah well. There’s always next year.