BI Photo / Isabel Fernandez Pujol
- Egg prices are off of their January peak, but a dozen still costs more than $4, inflation numbers show.
- With Easter approaching, fake-egg dye kits from Walmart and Target may be cheaper than the real thing.
- The high cost of eggs led one of the largest dollar-store chains to decide not to carry them for now.
High egg prices could turn decorating for the Easter holiday into a financial headache.
The average cost of a dozen Grade A large eggs ticked down in February from its record high in January, but the price still remained at an uncomfortably high $4.21, per US inflation data released earlier this month.
That's roughly double the cost from a year ago, and nearly triple the price that many consumers were used to paying before inflation and avian diseases became a factor.
A lot of people plan to celebrate the holiday — 85% of shoppers, per Numerator — and half of shoppers told the company they expect economic challenges to affect their plans. One third said they would use more coupons, and a quarter said they'd shop at dollar and discount stores.
Now it may actually make better financial sense for would-be egg decorators to opt for a kit of a dozen artificial eggs — dye included, nutrition excluded — available at retailers like Target and Walmart for less than the cost of the real thing.
Walmart comes in with a bargain $2.24 per kit, while a carton of Great Value large white eggs ran $5.18 at an Atlanta Supercenter on Friday. (Actual egg prices vary substantially by geography. Some Walmart locations have eggs for less than half that price.)
Target has two offerings: a $3 Spritz dyeable kit (which is apparently sold out in some stores) and a Mondo Llama paintable set for $5. Perhaps the Mondo Llama eggs are cage-free.
By comparison, a dozen edible store-brand eggs are $2.59 at the Atlanta Midtown store, while traditional dye kits start at $3 and must be purchased separately.
Shortages have also nudged more shoppers to buy "premium eggs," per Numerator data, which would make the savings even greater when opting for the plastic ones.
In online comments, shoppers point out additional benefits of using fake eggs over ones laid by chickens. They're cruelty-free, easier to use with young children since they're less breakable, and don't require boiling.
Easter decorators aren't the only ones adjusting their plans due to the still-high cost of eggs this spring. Dollar Tree, one of the largest dollar store chains, said in mid-March that it would pause selling eggs in its stores for a few months while it waits for prices to come down a bit more.
The store said it would remove eggs from the grocery sections of about 8,000 Dollar Tree stores across the US and Canada.
And for those who still want a budget Easter eggs-perience but neither want to pay for real eggs nor decorate pretend ones, Walmart has you covered: a carton of a dozen chocolate-covered marshmallow Easter eggs is on shelves in select stores for just $1.