BY Rachel Cagle
"Americans were expected to spend $6.9 billion on food for Fourth of July cookouts and picnics in 2018, according to the annual survey released by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insight & Analytics. That's the second-highest amount in the history of the survey and per-person spending is up."
“'Those who are celebrating by attending or hosting a cookout or picnic, are actually spending more, and retailers will be ready with red-white-and-blue decorations, apparel and food,' NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said.”
"According to the survey, over 216 million Americans (87%) planned to observe Independence Day last year. Nearly 153 million (62%) planned a cookout or picnic, spending an average of $75.35 per person, a new record topping 2017’s $73.42. (The numbers cover only food items and not other holiday-related items.)"
"Other Independence Day celebrations included partaking in fireworks or a community celebration (106 million) and attending a parade (30 million). Fourth of July is also a popular time for traveling with 31 million who planned to head out of town in 2018."
“'Over a quarter of Americans plan to buy more patriotic decorations for the holiday this year,' Prosper Insights Executive Vice President of Strategy Phil Rist said in 2018. 'We find young people really embrace this holiday, which explains why young people are significantly more likely to buy more patriotic-themed decorations or apparel for the holiday than any other age group.'”
Last month, 64.8% of Independence Day Fireworks Attendees used a search engine to research products they were considering for purchase (probably using Google, the preferred search engine of 88.7% of this audience), according to AudienceSCAN. Additionally, while on the hunt for products they want, within the last six months, these consumers have used mobile devices to get directions to a store (55%), view a store's website (43.6%) and search for nearby retailers (38.1%).
"The survey found that 62% of consumers already owned an American flag, 51% had patriotic apparel such as a T‑shirt or hat, and 38% owned decorations. Overall, only 27% planned to purchase additional patriotic merchandise, but the number jumps to 44% for those ages 18–24 and declines steadily for older individuals."
Businesses selling 4th of July swag or cookout food can draw the attention of Independence Day Fireworks Attendees with both digital and print advertisements. Last year, according to AudienceSCAN, these shoppers took action after seeing TV commercials (68.8%), receiving direct mail ads (64.4%), reading email ads (53.2%) and seeing ads in both digital and print newspapers (49.7%). They're also 22% more likely than other shoppers to be motivated by ads they see on daily deals sites such as Groupon.
AudienceSCAN data is available for your applications and dashboards through the SalesFuel API. Media companies and agencies can access AudienceSCAN data through the AudienceSCAN Reports in AdMall.