Americans expect to travel less, gather in smaller numbers and seek new experiences amid familiar surroundings this Thanksgiving, according to a survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults by SMARTeam, Advantage Sales’ consumer goods insights team.
The number of those who plan to observe Thanksgiving as they have in the past has fallen dramatically, with fewer than six in 10 (59%) survey respondents saying they will celebrate the holiday this year, compared to 88% who said they celebrated Thanksgiving in 2019, according to SMARTeam’s mid-September survey of adults who participate in at least one major winter holiday.
Social distancing and the pandemic’s impact on finances have altered plans, as 40% of respondents say they will not travel this holiday season. Of the 38% of respondents whose finances have been hurt by COVID-19, fewer than half (48%) expect to travel and 40% plan to attend a gathering, down from 57% who did last year. Only 28% of those with pandemic-affected finances plan to host Thanksgiving dinner this year, compared to 39% of these respondents who hosted last year.
Planning their holiday grocery shopping, more than half of those surveyed expect to encounter out-of-stocks and more than one-fourth expect meat to be in short supply — with 6% percent concerned about turkey out-of-stocks specifically.
