Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 25) velocities for on-premise outlets that were open were up 29% versus the previous Thursday, and +64% higher than the average Thursday across the rest of 2021, NielsenCGA reports. Growth in check values drives this performance as they increased 149%, making it the strongest check value day so far this year – proving the day’s importance to the On Premise in capturing consumer spend.
The Wednesday before Thanksgiving (often referred to as Blackout Wednesday – Nov. 24) also delivered strong velocity growth, with velocity at state level up between 25% and 47% versus the previous Wednesday. It is also the strongest Wednesday across the year for all metrics of success, up +44% in velocity, +17% in check value and +24% in traffic versus the average Wednesday in 2021.
Nationwide, all key states experienced flat or positive trends to November 27, however Illinois experienced slight growth for the third consecutive week in the week to Nov. 20, while other states were in slight decline.
Despite negative trends, velocity in outlets currently trading is now 73% higher than the same week in 2020. Velocity remains ahead of 2019 levels in all key states for the 24th consecutive week, resulting in a +22% difference for the U.S.
In recent weeks, following positive trends in the first weeks of the month, there are slight declines of 2% in the week to Nov. 20 and -6% in the week to Nov. 27, following trends in previous years.