This report offers a deep exploration of how US consumers host gatherings in their homes. As a brand, this report can enable you to make hosting easier for consumers by tailoring offerings based on data-backed research. Below, we’ve summarized the key topics covered and provided findings from the report.
Main Topics Covered
- The proportion of consumers who host gatherings, how often, and for which occasions.
- Hosts’ reasons for hosting and non-hosts’ reasons for not hosting.
- What type of space hosts have at home and where they host.
- Purchases made for home gatherings and how they vary between events.
- Where hosts find inspiration and ideas for their events.
- How brands are making it easier and more enjoyable to host.
Hosting Gatherings at Home: Market Overview
Hosting gatherings at home is common in the US with two-thirds of Americans having hosted at least occasionally in the past year. These events are considered special, and there’s a balance between formal and informal gatherings. Stakeholders in the industry can offer solutions that cater to the needs of these hosts by focusing on making events memorable and less stressful, and targeting key demographic groups.
Key Hosting Consumer Insights
- Where consumers host: Living rooms are the most frequently used space for hosting, with two-thirds of consumers typically using this area, followed by dining rooms and kitchens. Outdoor spaces are also utilized, with over nine in 10 consumers having some form of outdoor space.
- Why consumers host: Motivations for hosting at home in the US are driven by a sense of duty, enjoyment, and pride. Individuals with spacious homes or a convenient location are more likely to host due to pride in their homes.
- Demographics of hosting: Younger, higher-earning consumers are more likely to host gatherings more often. Full-time workers, parents, and those with larger households are also among the most likely to host. These groups represent key demographic targets for companies to generate offerings that cater to their needs, discussed fully in the report.
Buy your copy of this report today and gain competitive insights on consumer hosting habits. You may also be interested in viewing our other consumer lifestyles research.
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Expert Analysis
Leading consumer lifestyles analyst Scott Stewart delivers expert insights with this in-depth report.
Most Americans host and it’s something they take pride in. Tighter budgets may limit spending, but consumers will still look to brands to make hosting easy and fun.
Scott Stewart
Associate Director, Lifestyles & Retail
Collapse All
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- Key issues covered in this report
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Executive Summary
- Consumer trends: key takeaways
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Consumer Insights
- Consumer fast facts
- Consumer fast facts (continued)
- Hosting prevalence and frequency
- Graph 1: past 12 month hosting, 2023
- Graph 2: have hosted a social event with guests at home in the past 12 months, by age, 2023
- Graph 3: have hosted a social gathering with guests at home in the past 12 months, by household size, parental status and marital status, 2023
- Graph 4: have hosted a social gathering with guests at home in the past 12 months, by home ownership, home type, household income and employment status, 2023
- Graph 5: hosting frequency, 2023
- Graph 6: host at home frequently, by age and household income, 2023
- Types of occasions
- Graph 7: types of occasions hosted at home in the past 12 months, 2023
- Graph 8: types of occasions hosted at home in the past 12 months – formal, by age, 2023
- Graph 9: types of occasions hosted at home in the past 12 months – informal, by age, 2023
- Graph 10: types of occasions hosted at home in the past 12 months, by gender, 2023
- Graph 11: types of occasions hosted at home in the past 12 months, overall vs Black/African Americans, 2023
- Reasons for hosting
- Graph 12: reasons for hosting, 2023
- Graph 13: reasons for hosting – duty/precedent, by age, 2023
- Graph 14: reasons for hosting, 2023
- Graph 15: reason for hosting – my home is well-suited for it, by type of home and household income, 2023
- Graph 16: reason for hosting – I’m good at it, by race, 2023
- Reasons for not hosting
- Graph 17: reasons for not hosting, 2023
- Graph 18: reason for not hosting – I don’t enjoy hosting, by age, 2023
- Graph 19: reasons for not hosting, 2023
- Graph 20: reasons for not hosting, 2023
- Graph 21: reason for not hosting – not enough space for hosting, by type of home, 2023
- Graph 22: reason for not hosting – embarrassed about the state of my home, by age and gender, 2023
- Graph 23: reason for not hosting – having kids at home makes it difficult, parents by age of children, 2023
- Home space: what consumers have and where they host
- Graph 24: outdoor spaces at home, 2023
- Graph 25: outdoor spaces at home, by region, 2023
- Graph 26: areas of the home used for hosting, 2023
- Graph 27: areas of the home used for hosting – kitchen, by age and gender, 2023
- Graph 28: areas of the home used for hosting – kitchen, by household income and type of home, 2023
- Graph 29: areas of the home used for hosting, 2023
- Graph 30: areas of the home used for hosting, by gender, 2023
- Graph 31: areas of the home used for hosting, by parental status and gender, 2023
- Purchases made for gatherings
- Graph 32: purchases for gatherings hosted at home, 2023
- Graph 33: purchases for gatherings hosted at home, 2023
- Graph 34: purchases for formal gatherings hosted at home, by age, 2023
- Graph 35: purchases for informal gatherings hosted at home, by age, 2023
- Graph 36: purchases for informal gatherings hosted at home, by race, 2023
- Graph 37: purchases for formal gatherings hosted at home, by race, 2023
- Graph 38: purchases for formal gatherings hosted at home – disposable plates/cutlery/cups, by generation, race and household income, 2023
- Enjoyable and stressful aspects of hosting
- Graph 39: enjoyable aspects of hosting, 2023
- Graph 40: enjoyable aspects of hosting – pre-event, by age, 2023
- Graph 41: enjoyable aspects of hosting – during event, by age, 2023
- Graph 42: stressful aspects of hosting, 2023
- Graph 43: stressful aspects of hosting – cleaning, by parental status and gender, 2023
- Sources of hosting inspiration
- Graph 44: sources of inspiration/ideas for gatherings hosted at home, 2023
- Graph 45: sources of inspiration/ideas for gatherings hosted at home, by generation, 2023
- Graph 46: sources of inspiration/ideas for gatherings hosted at home, by gender, 2023
- Graph 47: sources of inspiration/ideas for gatherings hosted at home – YouTube, by age and gender, 2023
- Graph 48: sources of inspiration/ideas for gatherings hosted at home, by gender, 2023
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Competitive Strategies
- Launch activity and innovation
- Marketing and advertising
- Opportunities
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The Market
- Market context
- Graph 49: 12-month percentage change in CPI, food at home, 2020-23
- Graph 50: wages and CPI, percent change from year ago, 2021-23
- Graph 51: consumer confidence, 2020-24
- Graph 52: have hosted a social event with guests at home in the past 12 months, by financial situation, 2023
- Graph 53: current financial situation – healthy, 2020-24
- Graph 54: Federal Funds effective rate, 2020-24
- Market drivers
- Graph 55: holidays celebrated, 2023
- Graph 56: median square feet of floor area in new single-family houses completed, 1973-2022
- Graph 57: average number of people per household, 1973-2022
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Appendix
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