Musgrave Marketplace survey reveals Christmas trends ahead of festive season
Just over half of those surveyed at the beginning of November had started their Christmas shopping
With Christmas lights turned on in cities, towns and villages across Ireland, the festive season is upon us and in a recent survey by Musgrave Marketplace, Ireland’s leading wholesaler and foodservice company, almost half of respondents said they were more than happy to see decorations up in restaurants and bars as early as possible.
However, sentiment changed when asked about putting up your Christmas decorations at home, with 75% of people believing you should wait until at least 1 December.
Survey results
It wouldn’t be Christmas without the mention of turkey and ham and 51% of people said they would enjoy turkey and ham up to three times before Christmas Day with 16% saying it would be on more than three occasions.
However, one in three people surveyed said they would only eat the traditional fayre on Christmas Day. When it came to a Christmas cocktail, the tipple of choice was a Pornstar Martini, followed by a Mojito.
Just over half of those surveyed at the beginning of November had started their Christmas shopping while 54% already had Christmas night outs planned.
The festive rush
“It is no doubt the busiest time of the year for the hospitality and foodservice industry and our teams across Musgrave MarketPlace are working closely with our customers as Christmas season firmly kicks off this weekend,” said Desi Derby, director of marketing, Musgrave MarketPlace.
Last year Musgrave MarketPlace sold more than 150,000 individual portions of turkey and ham, approximately 750,000 potatoes and over 100,000 sprouts ensuring those celebrating the festive season enjoyed typical Christmas fayre.
“When it came to a Christmas tipple, our most popular alcohol lines were dominated by beers with Heineken, Coors Light and Guinness all in the top performers while non-alcohol sales are up 14% on last year,” noted Derby.
Musgrave MarketPlace, part of the wider Musgrave Group, is the only 100% Irish-owned national foodservice, retail, and SME wholesaler, servicing over 45,000 customers across cafes, pubs, clubs as well as five-star hotels and every Michelin star restaurant on the island of Ireland.
