NRF tracks year-round consumer holiday spending trends

2023 winter holiday review

Washington, D.C.-based National Retail Federation (NRF) published a study conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics on consumer spending during the 2023 winter holiday season (Nov. 1-Dec. 31), which can be helpful to review when considering changes in consumers’ financial outlooks from 2023 to 2024.

“Shoppers exceeded our expectations with a robust turnout,” said Matthew Shay, NRF CEO and president. “Retailers large and small were prepared to deliver safe, convenient and affordable shopping experiences with the products and services consumers needed, and at great prices.”

In 2023, the number of Thanksgiving weekend shoppers reached a record of 200.4 million. The grocery stores and supermarkets category was the top destination for those consumers (42%) after online shopping (44%).

For the overall winter holiday shopping destinations in 2023, grocery stores and supermarkets came in fourth (44%) after online (58%), department stores (49%) and discount stores (48%).

NRF also reported that 43% of consumers begin their holiday shopping in October so they can spread out their budget (60%), avoid last-minute stress (46%) and avoid crowds (45%). However, 62% of consumers still don’t expect to be finished with their holiday shopping until December, offering retailers plenty of time to merchandise limited-time products all throughout the season.

In 2023, consumers budgeted an average of $255 to spend on seasonal items like decorations, cards, candy and food.

Groceries were also on the gift list with 15% of consumers planning on purchasing grocery store/gasoline gift cards in 2023. The average amount consumers planned to put on each gift card they purchased was $49.43, and consumers planned to purchase an average of 3.4 gift cards total. Out of all top gift categories in 2023, gift cards landed second place (44%) after clothing or accessories (56%).

2024 Super Bowl spending

In the NRF 2024 Super Bowl Spending Survey, conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics in January, NRF found that 77% of consumers surveyed were watching the 2024 Super Bowl. This was a 2% increase from 2023 and the highest turnout since 2016 (77%).

Out of the five spending categories in the survey, food and beverage has consistently been between 77-82% since 2014, while the next highest category, team apparel or accessories, was only 8-13% throughout the same time period.

The expected per person spending average for consumers watching the game was $86.04, a slight increase from 2023 ($85.36), after a jump back up from 2022 ($78.92) and 2021 ($74.55).

Total Super Bowl expected spending in 2024 was $17.3 billion, following a steady upward trend after a dip in 2021 ($13.9 billion).

St. Patrick’s Day 2024

Consumers broke records all across the calendar in 2023 and early 2024. NRF and Prosper Insights & Analytics said consumers planned to spend a record average of $44.40 per person on St. Patrick’s Day in 2024. According to NRF, a record number of 162 million Americans said they were celebrating this year, which is more than 20 times the total population in Ireland.

This year, food and beverages was the top spending category for St. Patrick’s Day, and while 82% of consumers celebrating planned to wear green, 29% also planned to make a special dinner on the day.

Easter 2024

In 2024, 81% of consumers planned to celebrate Easter, according to NRF and Prosper Insights & Analytics. Expected consumer spending for Easter reached a record average of $192.01 per person in 2023, with 2024 not behind at $177.06, the third-highest in history after 2021 ($179.70).

Out of that total for 2024, consumers planned to spend the most on food ($7.3 billion). When broken down into categories, general food was tied with candy at 89% for top planned purchases.

The topmost popular activity for Easter Sunday in 2024 was cooking a holiday meal at 57%. Consumers’ top three reasons for Easter shopping were because it’s tradition (64%), a social activity with family or friends (32%) or because of sales and promotions (29%). 

“The overall shopping experience itself also plays a role in purchasing behavior,” said Phil Rist, Prosper executive vice president of strategy. “This year almost one-quarter of consumers said they were inspired to shop for Easter items from store displays and decorations as well as exclusive or seasonal products.”

Even 55% of consumers not celebrating Easter still planned to take advantage of holiday-related sales, Rist said. Those consumers expected to spend an average of $20.52 per person.

Fourth of July 2024

NRF and Prosper Insights & Analytics reported that this year, 87% of consumers were celebrating Independence Day and planning to spend an average of $90.42 on food items. This was a little less than 2023 ($93.34) but a jump up from 2022 ($84.12).

Out of the five top ways consumers have planned to celebrate the Fourth of July over the last decade, the cookout/barbecue/picnic category has consistently been the highest. In 2024, it was 66% of consumers, while the next highest, fireworks/community celebration, was 44%. In 2020, during the beginning of the pandemic, fireworks/community celebrations dropped to 24% after 40% the year prior. However the cookout/barbecue/picnic category only dropped to 56% in 2020 from 61% in 2019.

This article is an excerpt from the October 2024 issue of Supermarket Perimeter. You can read the entire Seasonal Merchandising feature and more in the digital edition here.