As the weather warms and consumers become more comfortable leaving home, the upcoming summer season will be ripe with sales opportunities for convenience retailers, particularly during the week of Memorial Day. Products such as beer, ice, edible and nonedible grocery items and ice cream are staples for backyard BBQs and family gatherings. By Memorial Day weekend, retailers should be prepared for an influx of sales and stocked up. According to NielsenIQ, total U.S. convenience saw beer sales average 17.8% higher than the total weekly average for beer sales in 2020.
Despite decreased convenience trips in 2020 because of COVID-19, the flavored malt category, which includes alcoholic seltzer, saw 24.6% more sales during the week of Memorial Day last year than the average weekly sales for the subcategory in 2020, and imported beer was up 21.6% last year. Bottled water and sports drinks also saw a sales spike during the week of Memorial Day 2020, averaging 16.6% and 23.1%, respectively, more than a typical sales week in 2020.
Last year’s Memorial Day week also saw grocery grow as more customers celebrated at home. Grocery (edible and nonedible) sales increased 26.6% for condiments, 35.8% for water/beverage enhancers, 20.7% for dish care and 8.1% for paper products, compared with the same week in 2019.
Ice cream remains highly popular during the summer months, specifically holiday weekends. Packaged ice cream sales increased 17.5% over the prior year and 27.2% more than the average packaged ice cream weekly sales in 2020.