Retail Occasions | Consumer Insight | Clear Channel
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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.

 

33

bn

collective worth*

10

%

of all total retail spend *

* Globaldata, 2023

8

%

growth 2018-2023

In the spotlight: Easter

Supermarket shelves are overflowing with Easter eggs, but brace yourself for a twist! This year, it's all about sweet treat variety, with shoppers diving into healthier alternatives like vegan, free-from, and dark chocolate delights. Plus, with the rise of curated experiences, more people are embracing at-home Easter activities. Hop on to our interactive Easter insights below.

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.

Father's Day

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

Summer

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

Back to School

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

Halloween

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

Black Friday

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

Christmas

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

Valentine's Day

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

up next

Mother's Day

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

Easter

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. 

time spent with family (vs pre-pandemic)

did more Easter egg hunts vs last year

increase in leisure share of spend YoY

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Find out more

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