Via Mike Mozart, Superbass, Skitterphoto & Will Montague

If you walk into any grocery store, you’d think that there’s a holiday going on every day of the year. Starting in January, the Valentine’s Day candy, teddy bears, and balloons take over the seasonal aisle, changing to St. Patrick’s Day and Easter colors in March. These types of “consumer holidays” are a source of irritation for some shoppers and excitement for others, but it’s hard to tell if retailers should focus on offering seasonal items. Is it worth the hassle and expense of stocking for these consumer holidays? Do customers even care about them anymore? Customer spending can provide the information retailers need to make informed decisions.

The Most Popular Holidays

Though we see merchandise for everything from Hanukkah to Back to School, not all consumer holidays carry the same commercial weight. It’s clear that consumers pour more of their hard-earned dollars into Christmas and other winter holidays than any other holiday throughout the year. In fact, an analysis in 2014 revealed that spending on winter holidays topped $602 billion, which came out to an average of $730 per person. In contrast, the next most popular consumer “holiday” was back to school, with only $72.5 billion in spending. With these numbers, it’s clear that spending on consumer holidays is still alive and well, but the bulk of it goes toward holidays in November and December. In fact, Christmas spending was estimated at over $1 trillion in 2016, showing that the popularity of holiday spending is in no danger of waning.

Is Spending Associated with Enthusiasm?

The interesting thing about consumer spending is that it’s not always associated with enthusiasm for the holiday. In fact, some holidays are more of an obligation to most shoppers than a time of excitement. Valentine’s Day is a prime example. Many men spend money on gifts to make sure they don’t upset their partners, while many women view it as a nice gesture, but not necessary. With this shift, spending has shifted as well: spending is up on gifts for pets, friends, co-workers, and parents. In 2017, spending on Valentine’s Day was estimated to be $18 billion, but this large sum is actually very small when considering overall spending (about $450 billion per month).

Should You Focus on Consumer Holidays?

So, does consumer spending warrant the manufacturing and marketing of these consumer holiday products? It all depends on the type of business—and the holiday. Every retailer in the United States knows the power of winter holidays, particularly Christmas. Focusing on this time period makes sense, as these holidays contribute nearly 20% of annual sales. That’s huge, and something retailers can’t ignore. However, some of the smaller holiday periods may not be worth leveraging, depending on the business type. It’s best to focus on holidays that fit in well with the business model: for example, retailers that sell jewelry find success around Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and winter holidays, while a men’s apparel store might find more value around Father’s Day and Christmas. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, but figuring out what makes sense for each retailer’s business model is fairly straightforward.

Could consumers’ waning interest in many of the more minor consumer holidays equal less spending at some point down the road? Perhaps in the future, but for now, the revenues continue to flow in—and retailers should take note.