As Cookout Season Approaches, What Will Shoppers be Adding to Their Carts?

Memorial Day is typically considered the unofficial start of summer, and it’s coming up quickly! With that in mind, we surveyed Americans aged 18+ to learn about their Memorial Day plans after a year in some sort of lockdown. 

When asked about their upcoming Memorial Day weekend plans, the most common activity will be hosting or attending a cookout. And what’s a cookout without a delicious variety of food and drinks? For those hosting, the majority plan to serve their guests burgers (92%) and hot dogs (80%). Also likely to make it onto the grill are chicken, corn on the cob, sausage/bratwurst, other vegetables, and ribs. 

When it comes to beverages, hosts plan to provide their guests a range of options, including soda (86%), water (81%), beer (75%), iced tea (52%), and cocktails (34%: don’t forget your margaritas!) to name a few. Solo cups look to be the preferred brand of drinkware for cookout hosts, with over half opting to make these available! 

Never one to show up empty-handed, almost all of those attending summer cookouts plan to contribute food or beverages with the most common items to bring being beer (28%), dessert (27%), burgers (27%), or chips & dip (26%). 

Almost all of our consumers who plan to host a Memorial Day BBQ will be purchasing their items in person at a grocery store (72%). We can target your offers to these shoppers in-store! Reach out to b2bmarketing@prodege.com to learn how. Also, if you’re curious about what other items will be purchased to kick summer gatherings up a notch, we’ll dive into that in an upcoming post.