Editor’s Note
With the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers likely a distant memory in most U.S. households by now, an interesting survey released last week by Vermont-based MyWebGrocer found time-honored fare continues to top holiday meal shopping lists across the country that are increasingly being planned online or via mobile devices.
Indeed, while more consumers planned their family meals via iPhones, online circulars and Web-based coupons, Rebecca Roose, MyWebGrocer’s social media manager, says when it comes to the core menu, most folks are sticking with tradition, making for what she says is “an interesting convergence of old and new” during this all-important holiday selling season.
Not surprisingly, turkey topped the list of the most sought-after Thanksgiving Day victuals during November, besting the typical monthly leader, milk, by 74 percent. Searches for turkey increased 570 percent vs. October, while searches for stuffing — the beloved starchy staple so integral to any well-rounded Thanksgiving menu — also saw a huge boost in popularity in November, jumping 942 percent. Ditto for yams, which also rose an eye-popping 502 percent.
“Convenience is key for shoppers in the Digital Age,” adds Roose, who cautions that while it’s fine to plan holiday feasts online, “Don’t mess with the menu,” which must also include pumpkin pie.
The “back-to-basics” food sentiment was also echoed prominently in a recent survey by Experian, which found, aside from the usual suspects — turkey, stuffing and pie — most folks proclaiming mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and green bean casserole among their most beloved winter holiday foods.
Speaking of being a sucker for potatoes — and poetry, for that matter — I thoroughly enjoyed the “Potato Farmer Poetry” e-video sent to me last week by the Idaho Potato Commission. The folksy poem and lovely photomontage celebrates the generations of family farmers who work from sunrise to sunset, growing what they maintain are “the finest potatoes on Earth.”
Check it out for yourself at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYvA9wlWxAQ
Can somebody please pass the gravy?
Indeed, while more consumers planned their family meals via iPhones, online circulars and Web-based coupons, Rebecca Roose, MyWebGrocer’s social media manager, says when it comes to the core menu, most folks are sticking with tradition, making for what she says is “an interesting convergence of old and new” during this all-important holiday selling season.
Not surprisingly, turkey topped the list of the most sought-after Thanksgiving Day victuals during November, besting the typical monthly leader, milk, by 74 percent. Searches for turkey increased 570 percent vs. October, while searches for stuffing — the beloved starchy staple so integral to any well-rounded Thanksgiving menu — also saw a huge boost in popularity in November, jumping 942 percent. Ditto for yams, which also rose an eye-popping 502 percent.
“Convenience is key for shoppers in the Digital Age,” adds Roose, who cautions that while it’s fine to plan holiday feasts online, “Don’t mess with the menu,” which must also include pumpkin pie.
The “back-to-basics” food sentiment was also echoed prominently in a recent survey by Experian, which found, aside from the usual suspects — turkey, stuffing and pie — most folks proclaiming mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and green bean casserole among their most beloved winter holiday foods.
Speaking of being a sucker for potatoes — and poetry, for that matter — I thoroughly enjoyed the “Potato Farmer Poetry” e-video sent to me last week by the Idaho Potato Commission. The folksy poem and lovely photomontage celebrates the generations of family farmers who work from sunrise to sunset, growing what they maintain are “the finest potatoes on Earth.”
Check it out for yourself at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYvA9wlWxAQ
Can somebody please pass the gravy?