Thursday, March 8, 2018

The Economics of St. Patty's Day

The Economics of St. Patty’s Day
Erin Zielsdorf 

St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner, meaning it is that time of the year for people to splurge on just about anything containing the color green. This goes for clothing, decorations, and the big income source: alcohol. Not to mention, the day full of binge drinking for adults tends to result in the need for various designated driving companies. Now, to put all of this into perspective, St. Patrick’s day is bigger here in the United States than it is in Ireland. Almost everyone is planning on buying something, which helps our economy significantly.

According to Wallethub, about 56.1% of Americans celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, and the average drinker will spend about $38. As a result, the income from this holiday brings in almost $6 billion dollars! Specifically this year, this unique holiday lands on a Saturday, meaning that some people who didn’t go out and celebrate in the past might now, because the opportunity cost of going out on a Saturday is way less than that on a weeknight. 

Not only do the consumers love this holiday, but so do sellers. In March, you can walk into a store and find just about anything green and intriguing the second you walk in the door - and these items are typically cheap, too. According to The National Retail Federation, 83% of consumers will wear green to show their Irish pride, and 23% will decorate their homes in Irish theme. Sellers make these items cheap because they know the cheaper the item, the more Americans will purchase. 


Although we usually don’t think of St. Patrick’s day as a big “spending” day, everything that is bought comes together to ultimately contribute to our gross domestic product, which has a lot to do with goods and services produced. This year St. Patrick’s day should be a big one for the US, and it will be interesting to see how much the numbers increase this year. 






Works Cited
Ogg, Jon C. “St. Patrick's Day in 2017 to Set Record for Economic Impact.” 247wallst.Com, 21 Mar. 2017, 247wallst.com/economy/2017/03/17/st-patricks-day-in-2017-to-set-record-for-economic-impact/.
“St Patrick's Day Spending Statistics.” Fundivo, www.fundivo.com/stats/st-patricks-day-spending-statistics/#.

39 comments:

  1. St. Patty’s day is a good way for a lot of companies to make money they can make things cheap and sell them for cheap because so many people are buying these green colored merchandise that the big companies can sell them for cheap and still make a profit, and based on the charts provided St. Patty’s day profits are just gonna keep climbing.

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  2. I think this is interesting because I never really thought of St. Patty's day as a day to go out and buy stuff, but after reading this it makes me want to throw a St. Patty's themed party and go all out in green and gold and say funny Irish stuff. I'm not surprised about the average drinker spending $38 because it's a classic day to get drunk to celebrate the Irish culture.

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  3. I agree with you in that I believe a lot more people will go out and celebrate this year due to the fact that St. Patrick’s day is on a Saturday. For most people it is not worth skipping a day of work to party, but the fact that it is on a Saturday means people won’t have to miss a beat. On top of the other sales, I was curious on how much the sales for Irish foods such as corned beef and cabbage increase on the week and how much grocery stores can make.

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  4. Erin: The economic plus side to St. Patrick's day is very interesting. From the perspective of a consumer when you walk into a lot of fast food restaurants especially Mcdonalds with their all famous shamrock shake, the tend to buy them at high quantity and tend to purchase them a lot. Restaurants have done a very good job adapting to the holiday and bringing in a boost in money, and now the shamrock shakes at these restaurants have become requisite to boost their sales and keep up with competition this time of year. Parties during the holiday also boost the demand for alcoholic beverages which help stores out and bring in more income for them. Arts and craft stores also get a big boost this time of year as people are trying to find products to design and decorate their homes with for the holiday. While all of the green decorations and drinks are only contemporary they bring in a lot of money for all kinds of different businesses and bring in a lot of money and boost the economy greatly.

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  5. I agree, St. Patrick’s Day is a fun holiday where people go out and buy as much green decorations and clothing as possible. But I think that all this spending is unnecessary. I feel this way because every year people go out and buy an average of $38 in drinks and spend over 6 billion dollars total on the holiday. When you put all this into perspective it is really all unnecessary. Although the holiday brings in billions of dollars and helps our economic growth, I feel that all the spending is not needed.

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  6. It’s very interesting to see the amount we will make just because people are buying alcohol for this holiday. I think that we as Americans celebrate more than Ireland just because people will use any excuse to party in the US. I'm glad you wrote about this because it was nothing I would ever think about.

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  7. After reading your post I did not realize their was that much people that celebrate this holladay, over 50% thats a lot of people, just for a holiday like this one, it did not come to a shock at all that only 23% would decorate their homes because to do all that would cost a lot of money and time just for one day, people really take st patrick day to a new contemporary level. But then you go the other 50% who would rather do nothing and something, and that's okay, sometimes you just need to take a break. Because the 8 million dollars spent is a lot of money just for one holladay, the stakes are high for the people who want to go all out, to look the best of the best. And i'm sure that people do. Some people say that this holladay is a forgotten holladay but not really, because there are so many people that have Irish in the blood that they enjoy spending their time and money to celebrate where they came form.

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  9. St. Patrick's day is always a big holiday in America. It almost comes off as a day off for most people. As stated in the blog post many people do celebrate and take the time off to do something fun for the day, which includes spending. With all things imaginable there is a lot for people to spend on, especially green items. Which makes me wonder what the cost of setting up such events is. For all the local Irish Pubs, how much do they spend in bringing in extra beer and liquor, how much they have to spend on food, and all their decorations. In addition to this, after the day is over how much of the money spent are they going to get back, how much profit will businesses make from such a day? In the end St. Patricks day sort of is a random day in America but also a random holiday, yet people love it and find a way to indulge and spend some cash.

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  10. I never thought of St. Patrick’s day as being a big spending holiday. I see these to be things like Christmas, Easter and Valentine’s Day. It would be interesting to see how the spending increases in specific states stack up. For example, Wisconsin is known for drinking; so, for a holiday that is meant for drinking, Wisconsin bars may make more of a profit from the holiday as opposed to places like Montana or North Carolina. As you said, this holiday will be on a Saturday this year. So, the economy can expect more of a positive impact as people go out drinking. I know that in my own home, my mom gets little decorations for St. Patrick’s Day. We have a table runner, Irish pillows and a green wreath that hangs on our front door. All of these little things that I thought nothing of contributed to the mass spending for St. Patrick’s Day.

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  11. You could also argue that there will be an increase in DUI's on St. Patty's day even though there are designated drivers available people will still make the dumb decision to drive under the influence. Speeding or DUI tickets will also bring in money on St. Patty's day.

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  12. This is interesting I didn't really think about how much people spend on St Patrick's day. I like how you included all costs that most people wouldn't even think about. I think it could be even better if you extended the idea about Ireland and compared the spending in the US to the overall spending in Ireland as well just to put things into perspective.

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  13. Its impressive that St. Patrick's day was a bigger deal in the U.S than in Ireland. This holiday helps our economy not only because of all the income from decorations and alcohol sold, but also because of all the food Americans will buy for their family reunions, also because of the Americans that will go restaurant to have an Irish meal. In conclusion St.Patrick's day will be a great income for the American Economy.

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  15. It is interesting that Saint Patrick's day affects the economy because it is just a day. The demand of alcohol increase on this day. To match the demnand to reach equilibrium they need to increase the supply of it. The increase of the amount of people drinking creates a pretty large revenue. This revenue helps the economy.

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  16. I agree that St. Patricks day is very expensive and a lot of people drive dunk. Because I see a lot of police out on that day. I also like that he had an source to prove that it was expensive day.

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  17. It´s interesting to see how much Saint Patrick´s day can actually affect our economy. When a person thinks of a holiday having a large effect on the economy, we think of Christmas, and it´s easy to forget these smaller holidays. However, even though they are smaller holidays, they still have quite a huge affect on the economy.

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  18. It is very interesting that so many Americans spend money on, and participate in St. Patrick's day. It really does affect so many industries because of the designated drivers, food, drinks, decorations, etc. Holiday’s are always good for the economy because people buy and give for one another, driving up supply and demand.

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  19. I think that it is a little bit crazy that Americans use saint Patrick's day really just to spend excessive amounts of money to drink rather than to celebrate heritage. I'm sure most people really don't know what the holiday is for other than gold chocolate coins and green drinks.

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  20. I think it is very ironic that St. Patrick's day is more popular in The United States than Ireland because it is considered to be the holiday for Irish people. I never thought about the economic effect of St. Patrick's day but it is quite interesting how important it is considering it is just 24 hours of drinking, partying, and wearing green.

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    1. The celebration being larger in America than in the country it originated from is similar to how we celebrate cinco de mayo more than anyone else. For the economic aspect, you also can add on things like the McDonald's Shamrock Shake, a seasonal item that will have high demand with the limited time.

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  21. I am not surprised to hear that Saint Patrick’s Day is a big spending day for Americans. We always seem to look for reasons to spend money, and this holiday is the perfect excuse. However, I was shocked to find out that the holiday brings in $6 billion, especially because it’s less popular than other holidays. How many green things can one person buy? Surely this year will be more popular given Saint Patrick’s Day lands on a Saturday, like you mentioned, but by how much? The only area this should affect is partying, but it’s hard to say.

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  22. It's very interesting to think about how much a holiday impacts American and their economy. Americans love to drink and celebrate things like Cinco De Mayo and St. Patrick's day and that's okay because in your post you explain that it helps the economy. During the holiday you can see the demand growth move higher because the consumer interests are higher for things that are green for the holiday.

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  23. I found it interesting that we celebrate St. Patrick's more here in the United States than in Ireland itself. I never really thought of St. Patrick's Day as a day to go buy things to celebrate it but its true. This is a smart move by the sellers on the market to make loads of money. I agree with you that St. Patrick's Day is very good for the economy. I'm sure that many other departments besides the clothing and decoration stores, such as the police department, Hotels/Resorts, Bars, etc. also make loads of money from St. Patrick's Day. Especially with the opportunity cost that you mentioned of this years St. Patty's Day being on a Saturday rather than a weeknight.

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  24. St. Patrick's Day is good for the economy, all this production and consumption is good for the GDP. Also, It seems to be good for the Gig Economy, the economy of freelancers. Freelance Drivers, DJ's, and Caterers.

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  25. There were a lot of really interesting facts in this article. It's crazy to think that America actually celebrates St. Patrick's Days more than Ireland. I agree with your statement and the graphs you showed. It is clear that St. Patrick's is a temporary boost for firms that sell merchandise and alcohol for the holiday. This year will probably bring in even more revenue then past years due to the fact that it's on a Saturday. Great article!

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    1. Dear Thomas,

      I think that your comment is very insightful. In addition to your comment, I found the article very interesting when it stated that St. Patrick's Day is bigger in the US than it is in Ireland. I think that there are some very strong parallels to Christmas, in that it has become more of a chance for spending and economic growth than it is an actual holiday. Additionally, I never would've thought that the day of the week has an impact on consumer spending. Great comment, and a great article!

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  26. I find it very fascinating the affect that St. Patrick's Day has on the economy. With the amount of money that American's are willing to spend for no reason I am not surprised that we celebrate St. Patrick's day more than people in Ireland. Specifically with clothing an alcohol it is an excellent times for bars and restaurants as well as clothing retailers to increase there marketing push as certainly demand for the product is bound to increase.

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  27. This was a cool article. I did not think about how well this holiday is for companies that provide a ride service. I also like how you added the economic impact of having a the holiday on Saturday.

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  28. I haven't really thought of St. Patrick’s day as a big holiday to spend on before reading this article. I know that when I was younger my parents spent money on small decorations for us kids but nowadays we don't really purchase anything to celebrate. Because of that reason I was shocked to realize that St. Patty's day does have a significant economic impact. That being said, I did not even think about how much alcohol consumption would have an impact on the economy. It is cool to see that even a smaller holiday is of big importance.

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  29. I find it very surprising that St. Patrick's Day is considered a bigger holiday in the United States than in Ireland itself. I also never thought of St. Patrick's Day as a holiday that brings in a lot of money because, compared to holidays like Christmas and Valentine's Day, I feel like it would bring in a much smaller amount. After reading the article though, I can see how the holiday actually does have a large impact on the economy. I realize that people purchase clothing, decorations, and a large amount of alcohol that will all contribute to a significant economic impact.

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  30. I'm surprised that so many participate in St. Patrick's Day, and especially that the US celebrates more heavily even than Ireland. Holidays have a huge impact on our economy, and play a crucial role in increasing GDP each year due to increased sales. I wonder in comparison to other holidays where St. Patty's Day falls considering how popular it seems to have become recently.

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  31. I thought this blog was really interesting to read because I did not really think of all the aspects of St. Patrick's Day. This holiday impacts the economy in many ways that I did not think of. For example, a designated driver. Today, we have plenty of apps for driving services which makes being safe easy and also has a positive impact on the economy. I also thought it was really interesting how we celebrate St. Patrick's Day more than Ireland, similar to Cinco De Mayo. There is no doubt that people will be spending money on St. Patrick's Day and it will be interesting to see the positive impacts on our country's GDP!

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  32. I found your article very interesting as I have never really celebrated St Patty's day myself and not many of my friends/ family celebrate it either. It was crazy to see that almost half of the population in the United States celebrates this holiday and that St Patty's day can generate over $6 billion. I just wonder how much the larger holidays generate such as Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, etc. Surely it must be a lot more, but it would be interesting to see how much. All in all I found your article very interesting!

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  33. I think it is very interesting how holidays, even if not native to our country, can be so beneficial for the United States. This holiday will add greatly to our GDP and as each holiday passes by, they can help to boost our economy even more.

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  34. This was so fun to read especially as someone who celebrates the holiday! I didn't know that there is so much spending occurring specifically on this day, though it is not surprising to me that the average amount spent on alcohol per person is $38. In addition, it is very interesting that even though this is an Irish holiday, we still celebrate it in the US ultimately adding to our GDP. Overall, great job on this post!

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  35. I also find the commercialization of holidays interesting in the United States. As consumers, we see willing to buy into any advertising that sells us on raising consumption during holiday times. We see this with St. Patrick's day, Mardi Gras, Halloween, and many other times throughout the year. I would be curious to know, especially on days like St. Patty's day with high alcohol consumption, how the holidays affect government spending on any police patrol for those days and any damage that may be done due to festivities.

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  36. Great Article! I do agree that St. Patrick's Day is a huge hit for the economy in the United States. Consumers are willing to spend so much money on green decorations, green-colored food and drinks, decorations and of course spend money on alcohol due to the popularity of celebrating this holiday. I find it interesting that this is such a big holiday and is celebrated more in the US than in Ireland. Like said above, the opportunity cost for the day is held is also a big part to this exciting day. I'm curious if the government needs more police patrol and/or to hire more safety individuals. However, the economy is very much so boosted due to this popular celebration month.

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  37. The commercialization reminds me of the commercialization of Cinco De Mayo. In the US businesses look for every opportunity to exploit people for cash and quite frankly it seems US citizens find every opportunity to spend that money. Because of this holidays that aren't really holidays blow up to proportions like this.

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