Labor Day Social Trends Reveal a New Season of Consumer Tastes
Just as Memorial Day marks the unofficial transition from spring to summer, Labor Day ushers in the new fall season. Celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor working Americans, Labor Day brings its own batch of traditions while initiating the fall trends we all know and love.
Check out the trends we’re observing using our social trend platform for Labor Day weekend and the emerging autumn trends we expect to see cropping up in the coming weeks.
Labor Day Weekend Trends
While holiday weekend hosts may be firing up their grills in anticipation for the year’s last summertime cookout, guests are planning a variety of side dishes to bring to gatherings—leading to topics like Potato Salad and Macaroni Salad rising in social searches. As consumers also try to relish the last bites of the season, trends like Seedless Fruit, Grapes and Waldorf Salads are increasing in social searches as people look for way to incorporate these fresh ingredients.
Labor Day weekend is traditionally a big college football weekend, which explains why topics such as Finger Foods, Tailgate Party, Pressure Cooking and Baked Beans are trending.
Whether gathering with friends and family or sitting down to a fun and festive football game, cocktails are standard for Labor Day weekend. Mixed drink components like Spritz, Carbonated Water, Maraschino Cherry and Prosecco are all popular searches leading up to the weekend.
Food and Beverage Fall Trends
The first place we typically observe the transition from summer to fall trends is on social media. Quotient’s social trend platform tracks social engagement and keywords to help inform brands and influencers on strategy and creative.
Take the wildly popular fall time beverage pumpkin spice latte, for example. When is the right time to start delivering campaigns that feature this seasonal classic? Popular coffees chains like Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts began selling their beloved PSLs and other fall beverages as early as August 18 this year—the earliest ever! But according to Quotient’s platform, PSL cravings start ramping up like clockwork during the first week after Labor Day. Seasonal trends like these, which also include keywords Squash, Microbrews and Apple Cider, can provide brands with a roadmap for planning promotions, creative and influencer campaigns.
According to our platform, additional food trends include Pumpkin (with keywords like Pumpkin Seeds, Pumpkin Bread and Puree), decadent and seasonal Desserts (including keywords like Cheesecake, Pudding, Caramel, Cobbler, Chocolate and Apple) and an influx of rich Comfort Foods and Slow Cooker meals like Soup, Pot Roast, Gravy, Stew and more.
Interested in planning impactful seasonal campaigns by leveraging our proprietary data and trend-guiding social platform? Contact us at communications@quotient.com to get started.
