IDAHO FALLS, ID - Thanksgiving is only a couple of days away, which means those of us in the industry are working at high-speed to ensure that Turkey Day runs without a hitch. Category Partners took a deep dive into consumer behavior for this holiday, highlighting what those in the supply chain need to know.

In a new national consumer survey of 1,000 consumers, Category Partners asked participants how they plan to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. A key area of inquiry was whether consumers host a Thanksgiving meal at home, travel away from home to celebrate with family/friends, or to not celebrate the holiday at all.

Some of the results of the survey, according to Cara Ammon, Director of Research, were surprising.

“We were surprised that for 20 percent of survey respondents, the traditional home-cooked Thanksgiving meal is not part of holiday,” Ammon remarked in a press release. “For 9 percent of individuals, they say they either don’t celebrate Thanksgiving at all or there is no unique holiday meal. An additional 11 percent said that they will either travel to a restaurant or the Thanksgiving meal will be store-bought or catered.”

Nearly one-half of respondents said they plan to host a Thanksgiving dinner with a home-prepared meal for themselves and/or family members, while 30 percent of households indicated plans to travel to someone else’s home for a home-prepared Thanksgiving meal. However, household demographics reveal that there are significant differences linked to age, income, household size, and other factors.

Ammon also noted that there are significant demographic differences that appear to impact decisions around hosting Thanksgiving events.

“Having children in the home significantly impacts the celebration plans,” said Ammon. “64 percent of households with children said they plan to celebrate Thanksgiving at home compared to only 41 percent of households without children. 21 percent of households without children said they will go to a restaurant or skip Thanksgiving altogether.”

Household income also plays a significant role in decisions to host Thanksgiving at home. The study showed that in households reporting income in excess of $200,000 per year, 73 percent plan to host a Thanksgiving at a home event versus only 47 percent of households with $50,000 in annual income.

“We were also surprised to see that for people living alone, many may stay alone on Thanksgiving,” said Ammon. “Nearly 30 percent of individuals living by themselves do not experience a traditional Thanksgiving and say they will eat at a restaurant on Thanksgiving or skip the holiday all together. It seems like a good reminder that on Thanksgiving a lot of people have no place to go. An invitation to join you for your Thanksgiving meal—especially among those people living alone—just might make all the difference in the world.”

In the spirit of the holidays, reach out to those in need. And from all us here at AndNowUKnow, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Category Partners