Forty-three percent without Irish heritage celebrate St. Patrick's Day

Your shoppers don't have to be Irish to get excited about festive promotions. Supermarket Guru quick poll shows that more people with no Irish descent celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

In Chicago, they are getting ready to dye the river green. In Seattle, they will paint the traffic stripes of their parade route green. And New York City will host its annual St. Patrick's Day parade, marched for the first time in 1762, which is not only the largest one in the USA, but one of the largest in the world. St. Patrick's Day may have originated as a Catholic holiday, but has become more of a secular celebration of Irish culture not just for the Irish, but for everyone. It turns out that more people that are not of Irish descent may be found wearing green and eating green foods.

In a Supermarket Guru quick poll conducted this month, we found that 43% still celebrate St. Patrick's Day even though they are not of Irish descent. For those that are of Irish descent, 33% celebrate this day. On the other side, 17% do not celebrate this day that are not of Irish descent, and seven percent do not celebrate this day that are of Irish descent. 

We wanted to know how people choose to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, and here's what we found. For starters, 69% will find something green in their closet to wear. Another 32% will eat something green, and 29% will cook something green. Irish bars and restaurants can expect 22% to come in for St. Patrick's Day, and ten percent will attend a parade or carnival. Surprisingly, only nine percent of our readers plan on drinking green beer, and eight percent will make green foods for a children's event or school. 

Retailers take note - your shoppers don't have to be Irish to get excited about festive promotions. St. Patrick's Day can be exciting for everyone. Display ideas for green foods and beverages (or simply traditional Irish foods, such as cabbage, or Irish beers and coffees). And for an even more festive approach, have employees dress in green! 

Here are a couple of great Irish coffee recipe ideas to print out and pass along to your shoppers. 

Irish Coffee Tartlets 

Irish Coffee & the Story of St. Patrick's Day by St Paddy Himself!