Graduation events set for comeback, says Party City

Seventy percent of consumers are planning to participate in or attend in-person graduation ceremonies.

That’s according to Party City, which recently surveyed shoppers nationwide about their upcoming graduation celebration plans. The retailer found that  32% of consumers plan to celebrate their graduates with a big party in an outdoor space, followed by 31% of consumers planning smaller, more intimate celebrations at home.

Additionally, 49% of consumers consider 2022 to be the first "normal" graduation year since 2019, while 30% still consider this year "not normal." And 37% of consumers plan to purchase graduation party essentials ahead through a combination of in-store and online shopping.

To expand the celebrations, Party City will be providing graduates across the country with custom graduation-themed Snapchat AR lens from Friday, April 15 through  Saturday, June 6. The lens will include a front-faced lens where fans can digitally 'dress' themselves in a graduation cap and gown and when flipped to worldview, shows an impressive "congratulations" balloon arrangement perfect for group and family snaps and photos.

Party City will also be 'popping up' at select graduation ceremonies across the country – from elementary to university level – providing students and teachers with the essentials they need to celebrate graduation this year.  The company is also partnering with Make-A-Wish to thank a group of high school seniors for raising more than $1 million dollars during the past 10 years for the organization through Kids for Wish Kids

"At Party City, we're customer obsessed, and this graduation season is no different," said Julie Roehm, chief marketing and experience officer, Party City. "We're ready to celebrate the class of 2022, no matter how they're planning to recognize their accomplishments. Our goal is to always make joy easy for our shoppers by staying on top of trends, curating a variety of different party inspirations and themes, and developing innovative shopping tools such as our new Balloon Builder on PartyCity.com, where shoppers can easily build their graduation bouquets and see their creations come to life in their carts."

[Read More: Exclusive Q&A: Party City gets sales bump from email marketing with AI]

Party City, part of Party City Holdco Inc., operates more than 800 company-owned and franchise stores throughout North America. Additional Halloween City pop-up storefronts are also located throughout North America seasonally.