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Nearly 9 out of 10 (88 per cent) UK consumers believe chocolate Easter eggs are wrapped in excessive and wasteful packaging.

The findings are part of a Retail Eyes survey which asked 3,214 UK consumers a variety of questions concerning their Easter egg buying habits and opinions. Not needing too much of an excuse to eat chocolate, 8 out of 10 people admitted that they intended to buy at least one Easter egg this year. Only 5 per cent of respondents felt that the sale of Easter eggs promoted unhealthy eating, but just over half (51.4 per cent) believed that the marketing of Easter eggs exploits children and parents.

The £200 million UK Easter egg industry appears to be largely unaffected by the recession, with only 8 per cent citing money-worries as a reason to give chocolate eggs a miss this year. More than half of those polled predicted their Easter egg spend would reach at least £10, and one third could see their budget top £20.

It seems that the supermarket chains are the retail outlets of choice for consumers, with 88 per cent planning to purchase chocolate Easter eggs from one of many well-stocked major national retailers.

Tim Ogle, Retail Eyes CEO, said: "Easter eggs are a much-loved tradition at this time of year, so we hatched a plan to find out more about consumer attitudes towards the sale and promotion of chocolate Easter eggs. With a recession in full swing and environmental issues pressing on all of us, it seems that UK consumers have had their fill of excessive, wasteful packaging."