EXCLUSIVE: Are Traditions Still Shaping Holiday Plans and Meals?
Traditions are part and parcel of the holidays, of course, but this year, it seems like consumers want to maintain that old-fashioned feel in their celebrations. New research affirms the significance of seasonal gatherings and the desire to connect the past to the present.
According to the "2024 Holiday Gatherings and Shopping Report" from Atlanta-based martech platform SmartCommerce, 87% of the consumers polled said that they plan to celebrate their main holiday meals at home with friends and family, and 71% intend to serve traditional items. Moreover, 82% expect to dig into the family recipe box to make tried-and-true dishes.
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“Just a couple of years ago, we were getting a lot of interest in what I would call novelty – ‘I will try this new thing.’ When we dug into that, it was about wanting to try something new because you had spent a year with the same people and same four walls during COVID. Now, I’m going to call it a return to the familiar. It seems people want something they can count on and want the things they know, the people they know and the experience they had before,” said SmartCommerce CEO Jennifer Silverberg in a recent interview with Progressive Grocer.
If people crave familiarity in 2024, they are eschewing some non-familiar facets of holiday gatherings. Nearly half of respondents said that AI will have no role in their holiday. “AI was on that list – there was a weirdly visceral reaction to it, like ‘That has no place at my table’,” Silverberg noted.
In this volatile election year, people are also thinking ahead about how political discourse may affect their table at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah or other occasions. SmartCommerce asked that question and found – perhaps not surprisingly – a split, with 44% of respondents believing they can respectfully discuss politics and 45% saying they will avoid such conversations. Only 11% said that they're bracing for spirited discussions around the holiday dinner table this year.
One of the hot-button topics in political discourse – high prices – is also affecting shoppers’ plans for the holidays. “We asked about food and gifts separately and inflation has hit both of those things pretty equally. For food, about 70% of people expect to pay more, 26% expect to pay about the same and more than 3% expect to pay less. For gifts, we have 28% that expect to pay more, 47% the same and 18% less,” Silverberg shared, noting that others answered that they aren't planning to buy any gifts or food.
In addition, some people are planning to give groceries as practical gifts. Tied into that, food retailers are destinations for the popular present of gift cards. “Grocery stores and mass are the ones who need to get ready for gift cards,” Silverberg affirmed.
