Numerator: Consumers' celebration intentions rise for nearly all holidays

Consumers appear to be in a celebratory mood this year. 

Intention celebrations are up in 11 out of the 14 tracked 2024 holidays, according in a survey of more than 5,100 consumers by Numerator. Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve have the biggest increases (up four points each), followed by Independence Day (up three points). Across all holidays, an average of 45% of consumers say they’ll gather with others to celebrate, up from 42% in 2023. 

The top celebrated holidays are Christmas (92% intend to celebrate), Thanksgiving (89%), Mother’s Day (74%), Easter (69%), and Independence Day (68%). Easter gatherings are expected to grow this year, with two-thirds of consumers expecting to buy food and half buying candy. One-quarter will buy gifts. 

In other findings, about a third of consumers say they will spend between $50 and $100 per holiday throughout the year, with the highest expected spending for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Other insights from Numerator’s “2024 Holiday Intentions Preview” are below.

•Holiday shoppers are most likely to visit grocery stores for Thanksgiving, Labor Day and Independence Day, while more will shop at big box retailers and online for Christmas and Halloween.

•The most spontaneous holidays (only planning one to two days in advance) for consumer celebrations are Cinco de Mayo (38%) and St. Patrick’s Day (32%). 

•The top holidays for gathering with friends and family are Christmas (62% of intended celebrators) Thanksgiving (62%), Easter (60%), Hanukkah (58%), New Year’s Eve (54%) and Independence Day (54%). 

•The holidays that focus on cooking or baking at home are Thanksgiving (47% of intended celebrators), Christmas (44%), Hanukkah (40%) and Easter (40%). 

•The holidays where going out to eat is much more popular include Valentine’s Day (39%), Cinco de Mayo (37%), Mother’s Day (36%) and Father’s Day (32%). 

•Ordering food for takeout or delivery is most popular on New Year’s Eve (15% of intended celebrators).

•Food is the most popular item consumers say they’ll purchase for 10 out of 14 key holidays, with Labor Day (83%) and Thanksgiving (81%) seeing the highest intent to purchase. 

•Alcohol sees its highest percentage of celebrators who intend to purchase on Cinco de Mayo (59%) and New Year’s Eve (53%).