CHICAGO, Aug. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Numerator, a data and tech company serving the market research space, has published a 2023 Labor Day Intentions Preview to identify consumers’ celebration, shopping and spending plans for the holiday. Overall, fewer consumers plan to celebrate this year (60% in 2023 vs. 75% in 2022, but plans for recreational activities and travel are on the rise. More than half of celebrants plan to purchase beer for the holiday, and throughout summer 2023, beer remained the top alcoholic beverage with sales up 11.7% and share up 1.6 points vs. summer 2022.

Consumer Sentiment Findings Include: 

• Expected inflation impact remained steady throughout the summer. 42% of consumers expect rising prices to impact their Labor Day plans, remaining unchanged from the beginning of summer (Memorial Day Weekend).
  • More than three-quarters of celebrants will implement money-saving measures. 86% of consumers anticipate taking money-saving measures for the holiday, including buying items on sale (54%), preparing more budget-friendly meals (35%), using more coupons (32%), switching to store brands (23%), and visiting dollar or discount stores (20%).
• Three-fifths of consumers plan to grill, making it the top celebration intention for 2023. While the same amount of Labor Day celebrants plan to grill this year as last year (61%), celebrations are shifting away from attending or hosting a gathering/party (41% in 2023 vs. 53% in 2022) to plans such as cooking/baking (26% vs. 20%), recreational activities (21% vs 12%), traveling (19% vs. 13%), and watching fireworks (16% vs 10%).
• Grilling or not, nine in ten consumers plan to purchase food and over half plan to purchase alcoholic beverages. 89% of Labor Day celebrants intend to buy food, including hamburgers (83%), hot dogs (67%), chicken (60%), and steak (41%). The top alcohol purchases are beer (74%), hard seltzers (34%), and wine (33%).
  • 98% of celebrants plan to purchase something for the holiday. Among non-food planned purchases, 16% plan to purchase party supplies, 12% plan to purchase decorations, 10% plan to purchase games/activities, and 8% plan to purchase apparel.

 Summer Alcohol Findings Include:

• Beer is the preferred alcoholic beverage of summer. Summer 2023 saw beer grow sales by 11.7% and share by 1.6 points compared to summer 2022.
  • Summer 2023 saw changes in beer favorites. Beer brands that grew summer share include Miller (+2.1 points), Coors (+2.1 points) and Modelo (+1.2 points). Bud Light declined by 3.2 points.
• Ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages saw increased sales this year. This category, which includes hard cider, hard seltzers, ready-to-drink cocktails, and flavored malt beverages, saw sales increase by 1.6% this summer compared to 2022, though the category's overall share of alcohol sales was down slightly (-0.6 points).
  • Consumer favorites and newer brands saw sales growth. Nutrl (+195.3%), Beatbox Beverages (+129.5%) and Absolut (+82%) saw the largest growth in pure sales, while brands such as High Noon (+4 points), Twisted Tea (+2.1 points) and White Claw (+1.1 points) gained the most share within the category. 
  • Younger consumers prefer ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages. Gen Z and Millennial consumers accounted for much of the growth in this category, driven by a preference for brands such as Beatbox Beverages, Cutwater Spirits and High Noon, all of which saw increases in sales and share this summer..

Numerator’s 2023 Labor Day survey was fielded 8/2/2023 – 8/7/2023 to 518 individuals. Summer alcohol insights were compiled using Numerator TruView, comparing the period 6/1/2023-07/31/2023 versus 6/1/2022-7/31/2022.

About Numerator:

Numerator is a data and tech company bringing speed and scale to market research.  Numerator blends first-party data from over 1 million US households with advanced technology to provide 360-degree consumer understanding for the market research industry that has been slow to change. Headquartered in Chicago, IL, Numerator has 2,000 employees worldwide; 80 of the top 100 CPG brands’ manufacturers are Numerator clients.

Bob Richter
Numerator
212-802-8588
press@numerator.com