Martini advert on digital screen outside Asda with people walking past

Retail Occasions

Understand consumers, inspire growth.

Understand consumers, inspire growth

In an increasingly complex and fast-moving world – the need for trusted, actionable, and forward-thinking insight is greater than ever. While consumer behaviour is ever-evolving, some fundamentals remain the same; every year over £1 in every £10 of all UK retail spend is attributed to just nine key retail occasions – that’s £33bn a year and growing.

Our Retail Occasions insight series is here to help you better understand which occasions should drive your growth in 2024, and where the opportunities lie. Discover specific and relevant insight to develop successful advertising strategies that make the most of your Out of Home campaigns.

Check out our tracker tool

collective worth*

of all total retail spend *

* Globaldata, 2022

growth 2017-2022

In the spotlight: Valentine's Day

You're just too good to be true,
can't take my eyes off of OOH! It’s vital to keep up with consumer behaviour, especially those built on human relationships. Fresh for 2024, we’ve got some great top tips and advice to land your dream OOH Valentines’ Day campaign. The occasion brings in £1 billion of revenue and continues to leave a lasting impression on people’s lives. Check out our interactive section below for Valentine's Day occasion-specifc insights and nickable slides.

More insights, better decisions

We're giving you easy access to deep occasion-specific intelligence and analytics. From Valentine’s Day to Christmas, we’ve got the answers to all the important questions on consumers’ attitudes and shopping behaviour.

Who’s buying?
What are they buying?
Where will they buy?
What will influence their behaviour?
When will they buy?

With our Retail Occasions Tracker, we’ll keep you updated on exactly when each occasion is activated, how many buyers have entered the market, current total market spend, and its remaining potential to tap into.

Equipped with all the crucial intelligence, you'll be able to quickly adapt and unlock the needs of your customers across 2024’s key retail opportunities.

Next Up Christmas

Easter

36m
buyers

£1.7b
spent

£0.0b
remaining

Shoppers are hoping for normalisation this year. More people are enjoying spending time at home relaxing, seeing an uplift in home and craft activities. To make the most of the occasion, brands need to capture consumers right at the beginning of the season to drive spend and impulsivity.

to bounce back post-Covid

shopper penetration

spent more this Easter than last

Download a sample deck of our Easter insights or Get in touch for the full insight

Father's Day

27m
buyers

£668m
spent

£0.0m
remaining

2023 will see a comeback in families reuniting and celebrating those magical moments with loved ones. While the gifting market is smaller for Father’s Day, compared to Mother’s Day, the market is outperforming and is forecast to grow this year.

growth in shopper penetration YoY

growth in leisure spend for dads

growth in impulse purchases

Download a sample deck of our Father's Day insights or Get in touch for the full insight

Summer

31m
buyers

£8.65b
spent

£0.36b
remaining

Now’s the perfect time to sharpen those summer marketing & media plans to capture consumers’ excitement for the comeback of experiences, entertainment, sport, fashion & travel.
* Total-in season spend for Summer (June - August) = £632m

shopper penetration YoY

eager to enjoy summer as usual despite cost of living concerns

intend to go on a trip this summer

Download a sample deck of our Summer insights or Get in touch for the full insight

Back to School

19m
buyers

£1.6b
spent

£0.0b
remaining

Returning back from summer leisure and downtime, parents’ unweathering focus continues to be placed in Back To School spend to best support their children.

purchase type: Uniform

driver in purchases: value and price

promotional message: % marked off

Download a sample deck of our Back to School insights or Get in touch for the full insight

Halloween

26m
buyers

£422m
spent

£0.0m
remaining

An opportunity to regain the relevance of this year’s social occasion across costumes, food & drink, and decorations.

growth in decoration purchases

growth in Halloween costume purchases

say it’s fun shopping for Halloween

Download a sample deck of our Halloween insights or Get in touch for the full insight

Black Friday

28m
buyers

£0.62b
spent

£3.76b
remaining

An exciting promotional shopping event, with the nation seeking exclusive deals and heavy discounts.

of consumers' total spend on Black Friday was online

purchase intention: Electronics & technology

expect retailers to offer special deals & promotions

Download a sample deck of our Black Friday insights

Christmas

16 days,
20 hours left

46m
buyers

£9.5b
spent

£8.1b
remaining

The last and largest event for shoppers and celebrators. A tradition that is never forgotten and is long awaited each year. Despite last year’s challenges, the nation’s sentiment did not budge and displayed resilience.

enjoy experience gifts over physical ones (16-24s)

YoY prefer going to the shops to buy Xmas gifts

say they would shop for specialty food & drink exclusively in-store

Download a sample deck of our Christmas insights

Valentine's Day

67 days,
20 hours left

23m
buyers

£0.08b
spent

£0.92b
remaining

Valentine’s Day is the first key 2024 calendar celebration, and each year it remains to be a sentimental event filled with special moments. However, it no longer is just a day between partners, we now see families and friends come together to celebrate love.

activity: Watching movies at home

YoY increase in retail share of spend vs leisure

of 16-24s make or DIY their gifts

Download a sample deck of our Valentine's Day insights or Get in touch for the full insight

up next

Mother's Day

92 days,
20 hours left

29m
buyers

£0.1b
spent

£1.49b
remaining

Consumers are expected to make continued efforts in 2024 to ensure they join with their mothers and celebrate with their loved ones. Mother’s Day beholds unweathering sentiment, with 85% agreeing it is an important occasion.

YoY in leisure share of penetration

increase in shopper penetration

in flowers purchases

Download a sample deck of our Mother's Day insights or Get in touch for the full insight

Find out more

Get in touch to find out more about how you can activate shoppers around the biggest Retail Occasions.

Our latest opinion pieces

Cadbury's Creme Egg ad on digital bus stop screen

Easter: It’s time to hop to it!

To offer consumers the most appealing Easter offers and to effectively influence purchase considerations, it is crucial for brands and retailers to perfect their content. Out of Home is perfectly placed to grab shopper attention, reinforce brand messages, and drive action - in the real world.

Pandora advert on digital screen on high street with people walking past

Mother’s Day: Connect with wonderful women everywhere

Brands can fully utilise the power of Out of Home to reach out to real-world audiences; building brand associations, reinforcing brand credentials when consumers are looking for inspiration, and influencing those gifting and food purchases at the point of sale.

YSL advert on digital screen in shopping mall with people walking past

Valentine’s Day: truly madly deeply for OOH

Valentine’s Day presents an opportunity for brands to really connect with consumers on this sentimental day. It is crucial to understand the experiences and values they want to share with their partner through their purchases. As romantics everywhere start to look for inspiration, brands can help spark up food and gift ideas in the lead-up