St. Patrick's Day Consumer Behavior & Spending Trends

St. Patrick’s Day is a major selling holiday for retailers and brands on Amazon. Last year, Shamrock decorations raked in just under $600,000 in Amazon sales between March 1 and March 8. St. Patrick’s Day party favors pulled in over $143,000.

This year’s St. Patrick’s Day comes at a perfect time as consumers are feeling more comfortable visiting bars and restaurants than they were in 2021. In fact, 37% of consumers plan to dine indoors at a restaurant or bar in 2022, and many are planning to get together with friends and families at gatherings and events.

After St. Patrick’s Day parades were paused last year due to COVID-19 concerns, these traditional events are making their return in cities throughout the U.S. in 2022, from Boston to Denver and Chicago. (Not to mention that Chicago once again dyed the Chicago River green in honor of the holiday!)

With consumers more willing to venture out of their homes and large events set to take place once again, how are sales of St. Patrick’s Day-related merchandise faring this year in the run-up to the holiday? Keep reading to find out.

St. Patrick’s Day and shamrocks

St. Patty’s Day has been top-of-mind for many consumers, as search volume for St. Patrick’s Day and shamrock-related keywords greatly increased over the past month.

Search volume for “St. Patrick’s Day” has soared by 492% since early February, according to Jungle Scout Cobalt data. Search volume for “Shamrock” has jumped by 264%, while search volume for “St. Patrick’s Day Decorations” has risen by 471%.

According to Cobalt data, sales of St. Patrick’s Day-related items were strong on Amazon between March 1 and March 8, 2022, outpacing spend in 2021. Although some consumers might place their orders at the last minute and depend upon Amazon Prime to deliver their items before the holiday on the 17th.

Food & beverage

St. Patrick’s Day is renowned for food and drink. No celebration would be complete without corned beef, cabbage, and, of course, beer. In an 8-day period spanning from March 1 to March 8, 2022, sales of St. Patrick’s Day mugs soared by 395% from last year, while unit sales for the category jumped by 360%.

Sales of this set of St. Patrick’s Day beer mugs soared by 11,866% over a one month-period leading up to the holiday.

And this pack of Green Solo Squared cups saw a 100% increase in sales over the same one-month period.

Beyond mugs and cups for beer, consumers purchased ingredients to make their favorite treats for St. Patty’s Day. Sales of Irish soda bread mix were up by 128%, while unit sales were up by 112% from last year.

This package of organic traditional Irish soda bread mix saw a 198% increase in sales over a one-month period.

Consumers also indulged their sweet tooths with St. Patrick’s Day chocolate coins, which brought in over $130,000 in sales between March 1 and March 8, 2022. Revenue and unit sales for this category were up by 60% from last year.

This set of milk chocolate gold coins saw a 12,134% increase in sales over a one-month period.

Apparel and accessories

Consumers turned to Amazon to get their wardrobe ready for St. Patrick’s Day, as they prepare to venture out to restaurants, bars, and parades. They filled their carts with all sorts of apparel from hats to t-shirts. Shamrock t-shirts brought in over $240,000 in sales on Amazon between March 1 and March 8, while unit sales were up by 39% from last year.

Sales of this St. Patrick’s Day t-shirt were up by 905% over a one-month period.

In the accessories category, St. Patty’s Day necklaces brought in more than $120,000 in sales, while unit sales for the category were up by a sizable 143% from last year. Green beads were particularly popular with consumers looking to show their St. Patrick’s Day spirit.

Sales of this 24-piece set of Shamrock green beaded necklaces were up by 2,470% over a one-month period.

Consumers also purchased headwear to top off their St. Patrick’s Day outfits – from tophats to baseball caps. Sales of St. Patrick’s Day hats were up 64% from last year, while unit sales were up by 109%.

Sales of this St. Patrick’s Day top hat set were up by 39,838% over a one-month period leading up to the beginning of March.

Sales of this St. Patrick’s Day clover baseball cap were up by 5,256% over a one-month period leading up to the beginning of March.

Party decorations and stickers

Consumers turned to the Everything Store to find decor to add a festive green layer to their homes and offices. St. Patrick’s Day decorations brought in over $130,000 in sales, while unit sales in the category were up by 40% from last year.

Sales of this 12-pack of Shamrock Decorations were up by 100% over a one-month period.

Meanwhile, sales of St. Patrick’s Day stickers were up by 61% from last year, and unit sales of the category were up by 56%.

Sales of this pack of Green Shamrock Stickers were up by 6,707%.

As consumers searched for goods for their friends and family to take home from St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, sales of St. Patrick’s Day Party Favors were over $300,000 between March 1 and March 8. Sales for this category as a whole were up by 127% from last year.

Sales of this 96-piece pack of St. Patrick’s Day Party Favors were up by 13,141%.

How brands can prepare for holidays

If you sell decorations or other St. Patrick’s Day-related items, you can still make sure that your listings are the best that they can possibly be to ensure that consumers can find your St. Patrick’s Day-related products and check out.

After all, many consumers rely on Prime’s two-day shipping, so they might be waiting to place their orders until just before Thursday, March 17. And, as St. Patrick’s Day falls on a weekday, celebrations commonly take place on the weekend before and the weekend after the holiday.

Use relevant keywords

To make your products stand out to St. Patrick’s Day shoppers, you can ensure that your listings include relevant, high-volume keywords. These will help your product rank and show up in organic search when consumers are looking for supplies.

Tools like Keyword Scout can help you find the best possible keywords that you can add to your existing products. Keyword Scout will display relevant, high-volume keywords and estimated advertising costs for each keyword. You can use this information to decide which keywords to use throughout your listing and advertising campaigns.

Optimize your ads

Since St. Patty’s Day shopping hasn’t quite ended, ensure that your ads are optimized for conversions and that your ads are constantly running up to the weekend.

You’ll likely notice many consumers looking to stock up on St. Patrick’s Day supplies, so you want to be sure that your ASINs appear at the top of the search results.

Prepare your inventory

Beyond St. Patrick’s Day, March is the perfect time to prepare for Easter Sunday, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day. Estimate the inventory that you need for these occasions – and use last year’s holidays as a guide to how much inventory you should order for this year. As is the case with St. Patrick’s Day, ensure that your listings, PPC campaigns, and inventory are ready for these holidays in advance, as consumers continue to feel more comfortable with big celebrations in 2022.

By taking a few steps to optimize your listings, PPC ads, and inventory, you can ensure that your brand will capitalize on the sales momentum generated by St. Patrick’s Day – and the many occasions that consumers will celebrate in 2022.

Methodology

The product data in this report is representative of the U.S. Amazon market. Market insights on Amazon products were sourced from Jungle Scout Cobalt, an industry-leading market intelligence and product insights platform powered by more than 1.8 billion Amazon data points every day. Year-over-year revenue increases are comparisons of the period of March 1, 2022 – March 8, 2022, to March 1, 2021 – March 8, 2021.

Contact [email protected] today to see how Jungle Scout Cobalt can help you explore sales data and provide strategic insights into consumer behavior on Amazon.