Naomi Sleeper
EVP
Imperial Distributors
After months of virtual get-togethers, many families are planning to gather in person for Thanksgiving this year. Whether celebrating over Zoom or sharing a dining table, consumers are looking forward to holiday cheer. This will generate high demand for traditional seasonal products — including décor, tableware, and kitchen tools and gadgets – that shoppers may have missed last year. In addition to offering essential Thanksgiving seasonal and food-related general merchandise, supermarkets can keep in mind a few additional trends for this holiday season.
- Early buying: Recent IRI data indicate trends of earlier buying for the holidays. While, historically, holiday sales peaked during the two weeks prior to Thanksgiving, seasonal sales shifted a week earlier last year. Widely broadcasted persistent supply chain challenges are encouraging shoppers to plan even further ahead this year.
- Post-meal prep: With many families still planning smaller than pre-Covid holiday gatherings, shoppers are expecting leftovers after their Thanksgiving meal this year. That means particularly high demand for food storage. Whether glass, metal or reusable plastic, supermarkets plan to have plenty of this everyday product merchandised at shelf over the next several weeks.
- Beer accessories: While Thanksgiving dinner gets the spotlight, don’t forget the beverages! According to a study conducted by Collage Group, beer is the alcohol of choice for Thanksgiving, particularly for millennials. In addition to stocking up on the beverage itself, this is a great time to cross-merchandise key beer-related products, including beer steins and glasses, bottle openers and even craft beer kits (great for holiday gifting, too!).
However you choose to spend this Thanksgiving, we wish all of you a happy and healthy holiday season!