Raise a Glass to St. Patrick’s Day: Chocolate Milk Saw a 194% Sales Lift Ahead of the Holiday
How are you planning to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?
If you’re anything like me, it’s probably with a cold drink in hand and something yummy to snack on. In preparation for the holiday, we took a look back at our first-party purchase intent data and exclusive consumer spending data from March 2020 to see which products people purchased ahead of St. Patrick’s Day and how those trends can be translated into content thought-starters.
Let’s take a look.
Top St. Patrick’s Day Trends by Category and Location
Unsurprisingly, the food and drink categories reign supreme for many St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Our data shows consumers marking the occasion with everything from traditional Irish dishes to alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks alike.
The following categories saw lift in the weeks around St. Patrick's Day (3/9/20 – 3/22-20) compared to the rest of the year.
Sales and Activation Trends
Lift in promotions activations and sales around St. Patrick's Day 2020 compared to the rest of the year
Understanding that consumers purchased specific products for their St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, we wanted to take a deeper dive into some of the most popular seasonal staples—namely, corned beef and cabbage, mint and chocolate flavored drinks and whiskey and scotch drinks.
See which DMAs experienced some of the largest increases in sales of these products during the weeks leading up to St. Patrick’s Day.
How did different U.S. cities celebrate St Patrick's Day 2020?
Food and drink trends by % sales lift
Turning Trends into Content
So, knowing that these topics trend differently across various areas of the country, how can brands turn these insights into actionable content ideas? For colder climates like Baltimore, Rochester or Salt Lake City, brands can share hot St. Patrick's Day drink ideas like a whiskey-spiked hot toddy or a peppermint hot chocolate. Likewise, warmer cities like Los Angeles, Atlanta and Austin may respond to more refreshing options like a mint chocolate milkshake!
As far as food goes, the Quotient Social Platform shows that “Corned Beef and Cabbage” starts trending upward in mid-February in conjunction with St. Patrick’s Day. When searching for this topic, consumers look for other traditional Irish side dishes like soda bread and cabbage rolls while also looking for ways to turn this dish into a modern-day convenience. Additional top related keywords include “Slow Cooker” and “Pressure Cooking.” Brands can use this knowledge to create consumer-friendly content like a roundup of time-saving tips for a traditional St. Patrick’s Day feast.
So, no matter where consumers are or how they choose to celebrate, there are plenty of ways for your brand to create campaigns that are strategic, targeted to consumer interests and spread across omnichannel properties to ensure you’re reaching consumers wherever, whenever and however they shop.
For more information on how Quotient can help bring your campaign planning to life for upcoming events, contact our team at general@quotient.com. Sláinte!
