Retailers Find Pot O’ Gold As Consumer Spending Rises This St. Patrick’s Day

Retailers Find Pot O’ Gold As Consumer Spending Rises This St. Patrick’s Day
-Consumers expected to spend close to $2.7 billion on the holiday-

Washington, DC, February 28, 2006 – Retailers will be feeling the luck o’ the Irish this Spring, as consumers hit the stores for their favorite green goods. According to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) 2006 St. Patrick’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, consumers will spend an estimated $2.69 billion on St. Patrick’s Day - up significantly from $1.94 billion last year. The average person will spend $27.94, increased from $22.95 in 2005.

“With the popularity of the holiday increasing, St. Patrick’s day has become a tremendous day for restaurants and bars, as well as your traditional retail outlets,” said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. “Even small trinkets can be big sellers as consumers respond favorably to retailers’ special selection of holiday merchandise.”

The reason for the large increase in spending is due in part to more people celebrating the holiday.  This year, 43.2 percent of consumers (96.3 million*) will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, compared to only 38.5 percent of consumers who felt the holiday spirit last year. Wearing green remains one of the most popular ways to celebrate, with 82.4 percent of those surveyed planning to don their green apparel. 

Other ways consumers plan to join in on the festivities include going to a bar or restaurant (24.7%), decorating their home or office (19.9%) or attending a party (15.9%). Yet not everyone plans on heading out, with 31 percent of those polled planning on making a special dinner at home.

Consumers of all ages will be enjoying St. Patrick’s Day this year; however it will be the 25 – 34 age group that does the splurging, with average per person spending expected to be $31.64.

“This holiday is definitely a boost for retailers, thanks to the 25 – 34 year-old age group,” said Phil Rist, Vice President of Strategy for BIGresearch. “Restaurants and bars will benefit greatly from this group’s increased spending power.” 

About the Survey
The NRF 2006 St. Patrick’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted for NRF by BIGresearch, was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to St. Patrick’s Day. The poll of 7,209 consumers was conducted from February 2-8. The consumer poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0 percent.

BIGresearch is a consumer market intelligence firm that provides unique consumer insights that are gathered online utilizing very large sample sizes. BIGresearch's syndicated Consumer Intentions and Actions survey monitors the pulse of more than 7,000 consumers each month to empower its clients with unique insights for identifying opportunities in a fragmented and changing marketplace.

The National Retail Federation is the world 's largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores as well as the industry 's key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents an industry with more than 1.4 million U.S. retail establishments, more than 23 million employees - about one in five American workers - and 2005 sales of $4.4 trillion. As the industry umbrella group, NRF also represents more than 100 state, national and international retail associations. www.nrf.com.

*Total extrapolation of U.S. adults 18+ (222.9 million)

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