Make it an event

Who says that holidays that appear on a regular calendar are the only ones worth celebrating?

Certainly not consumers, who have embraced marketer-made days like National Pizza Day (Feb. 9), National Margarita Day (Feb. 22) and National Hamburger Day (May 28)--as well as all of the special deals that fast-food restaurants and their favorite local bars offer in conjunction with these not-quite-official holidays.

For retailers, when it comes to showcasing favorite seasonal ingredients and flavors or giving a nod to local traditions—like, in the upper Midwest, firing up the grill the first time the weather hits 50 degrees in March–there’s no bad time to celebrate.

Not only can observing nontraditional special occasions give shoppers something to smile about and fresh dinner inspiration, but also “special occasions and celebrations are times when they are willing to spend a bit more,” 210 Analytics’ Roerink says.

So, when soft-shell crab season returns in late spring, savvy retailers aren’t counting on consumers in the know to start looking for them in stores; they’re launching CrabFest to put a spotlight on this seasonal treat. During hatch chile season, which runs from the beginning of August through September, San Antonio, Texas-based H-E-B offers in-store chile roasting and highlights recipes for meals like hatch-and-mustard fried chicken nuggets and hatch pulled-pork enchiladas.

“It’s about figuring out a way to interrupt people's very routine grocery trips,” says Roerink. She notes a conversation with one store owner who puts on an annual Beef Stampede–complete with mechanical bull and staff in cowboy hats–who said he has customers who drive 60 miles one way for the event. Notably, beef purchases don’t fall off after the event ends, he relayed.

“You can take a self-invented holiday and really pull it through all the departments,” Roerink says, citing as an example Publix’s Italy Week, where end caps, sampling stations and the fresh perimeter all get in on the theme. She points also to candymaker Hershey’s “S’mores Season” push, with the chocolatier launching s’mores kits as well as securing prime end-cap placement for its six-packs of chocolate bars alongside graham crackers and bags of marshmallows.

“Little things like that can trigger an entire special occasion,” she says. “[It becomes] ‘’Hey, that’s what we eat when we tailgate. You know what? We should tailgate.”

And if they’re buying value-oriented hot dogs and burgers to go with their s’mores or taking advantage of a Beef Stampede to grab a few steaks, they’re actively, eagerly engaging with the meat department—exactly what’s needed to combat subdued sentiment and recent sales slumps.