Survey: Consumers To Celebrate Memorial Day, But Trim Spending

With inflation top of mind for consumers, a new survey ahead of the Memorial Day weekend found that most Americans will celebrate the holiday weekend, with many looking for ways to cut spending.

Numerator’s Memorial Day Preview Report revealed that one-third of survey respondents expect rising prices to have a “major impact” on their Memorial Day celebration. Low income consumers are 42% more likely to expect a major impact with half saying they are more likely not to celebrate this year.

Other key findings include:

• Nearly three-quarters of consumers will cut back on spending, and 74% will buy fewer items due to inflation. High income consumers are 22% more likely to spend the same amount as in previous years.
• Consumers are looking for sales and coupons to save; 64% of consumers will buy sale items, 37% will use more coupons, and 36% will prepare budget-friendly snacks & meals to save this Memorial Day.
• Dining out and holiday decor top consumers’ planned cutback lists; 49% of consumers will cut back on dining out, followed by 44% on decorations and 31% on alcohol and apparel.
• Meat is the most popular planned food purchase with 85% of consumers planning to buy food will purchase meat for Memorial Day, followed by fresh produce (67%) and deli items / prepared foods (33%).
• Beer is the most popular planned alcoholic beverage purchase with 75% of consumers who intend to purchase alcoholic beverages likely to buy beer, followed by wine (44%) and spirits (40%).
• Shoppers plan to shop in-store for Memorial Day as 92% of celebrants saying they will shop in-store, with grocery (67%), mass (45%) and clubs (29%) being the most popular channels. Only 19% of shoppers expect to shop online.