The holiday fun has already begun.
In the run-up to Thanksgiving and the holidays, some of the nation’s big food stores are already seeing a pickup in business. “People might not buy a new jacket in a tough economy, but we’re seeing an improvement in our Thanksgiving catering business, our gift basket business, and our wine sales, including our high-end wines,” said Stew Leonard Jr., president and CEO of Stew Leonard’s, a $400-million-dollar-a-year privately-owned enterprise headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut. “The pendulum is swinging back a little more.”
Retailers nationwide — anticipating a stronger shopping holiday season overall this year than last — announced the other day that they’re throwing their doors open earlier, jumpstarting Black Friday (the day they traditionally turn a profit) on Thursday instead.
Wal-Mart, among others, is opening some of its stores at 12 midnight on Thanksgiving night in an attempt to draw in shoppers. Steve Nave, general manager of Walmart.com, noted in a statement that the company wants to help cost-conscious shoppers “save money so they can bring home more for less this holiday season.”
The real numbers won’t come in until well after the last Thanksgiving turkey or tofu pie has been scraped clean. Meanwhile, here’s a look at some important economic numbers, trends and insights this Thanksgiving season.
Travel Picks Up
- Some 42.2 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more to celebrate turkey day with loved ones. That’s up from 37.9 million travelers last year for a spike of 11 percent, reports AAA, the nation’s largest motoring organization.
- With the current uptick in the economy, auto transport will rise about 12 percent and the average American will spend nearly $500 on travel during Thanksgiving week, during a round trip of 816 miles, says AAA.
- An estimated 24 million folks will take to the skies this Thanksgiving holiday, reports the Air Transport Association; that’s a gain of 3.5 percent from last year. The week’s holiday travel was once crammed into a Wednesday-through-Sunday period, but Thanksgiving travel is now spread out over 12 days, as many Americans turn the holiday into a week-long vacation, reports The Wall Street Journal. American Airlines and Southwest both say Tuesday of this week will be busier than Wednesday.
We've Always Loved the Food
- Roughly $4 billion — that’s the USDA forecast for 2010 receipts to farmers from turkey sales in this country. Some 46 million turkeys are eaten on Thanksgiving day, according to the site GoBankingRates.com, which has aggregated data from several sources. That’s 19 percent of the turkeys eaten in the U.S. annually. The average cost of a turkey is $1.19 a pound and the average weight about 16 pounds, for a total intake of about $875 million. Many take-out restaurants and outlets offer their version of the great cooked bird, including the Boston Market chain, which started in 1985 and today operates in 28 states. It serves up “banquet meals” featuring whole, fully-cooked turkeys; price of a roasted turkey for six, plus a large gourmet side and a serving of cornbread per person, is $34.50, or $5.75 a person.
- Ocean Spray sells 72 million cans of antioxidant-rich cranberry sauce each Thanksgiving season. That’s about 80 percent of its annual sauce business, or an intake of $172 million.
- Stove Top sells 60 million boxes of its signature stuffing each Thanksgiving. At $2.99 a box, that’s an intake of nearly $180 million.
- At Costco, it’s pumpkin pie — about one million sold during Thanksgiving week. At $5.99 for a large pie (compared to about $18 at the local bakery, depending on location), the company rakes in nearly $6 million. Stew Leonard’s has seen their pie sales rise 20 percent in the last year or so since they began offering half-pies for sale: “People want an assortment, so they’re buying apple, pumpkin and pecan half-pies and spending more than they did when they bought whole pies.”
Black Friday
- The nation’s biggest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores, is offering free shipping on nearly 60,000 online items this year, with no minimum purchase, the company announced last week. In the same vein, Wal-Mart plans to open most (though not all) of its 3,792 stores at midnight on Thanksgiving night this year. No more 6 a.m. mad rush on Black Friday — now you can start forking over cash in the middle of the night.
- Also getting a jump on Black Friday is Sears Holding Corporation, operator of Sears and Kmart — perhaps more out of desperation than anything else. Open for business on Thanksgiving Day for the first time in its history, the retailer has been hard hit lately, with a third-quarter loss dragged down by weak revenue after poor sales of appliances and clothing, the AP reported. Sears Holding reported a loss of $218 million or $1.98 a share on Thursday.
- Macy’s and JCPenney will open at 4 a.m. on Black Friday. “The economy has challenged us to be better retailers,” Macy’s chairman and CEO Terry Lundgren told the National Retail Federation, adding that the company is “always trying new things.”
Entertainment Today
- The 84th annual Macy’s Day Parade in New York City will be attended by more than 3.5 million people and watched by 50 million viewers across the country. This year the parade features 800 clowns, 17 floats, 15 giant character balloons, 12 marching bands and more.
- The NFL will hold three regular-season games on Thanksgiving Day: The Detroit Lions vs. the New England Patriots, the New Orleans Saints vs. the Dallas Cowboys, and the New York Jets vs. the Cincinnati Bengals. The action starts at 12:30 p.m. eastern, and thousands of people will be checking the point spreads. You can bet on that!
