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 Flegenheimer, 28, plans to buy her turkey at Whole Foods, instead of
the cheaper one at Safeway. All told, she expects to spend about
$200 on her Thanksgiving meal.
And that is not where the higher-budget ends. Flegenheimer's friends
are a high-maintenance group, many of whom only eat grass-fed meat
and care a lot about everything being organic. Some have become
gluten-free.
A self-proclaimed a foodie, Flegenheimer tends to buy "better"
ingredients. "I like to make my cranberry sauce myself, not using
canned cranberries," she says. "Those types of things make a big
difference."
Flegenheimer is not alone: 42 percent of millennials (ages 18 to 34)
say they plan to spend more money on Thanksgiving this year,
according to Allrecipes 2015 Thanksgiving survey. That compares to
34 percent of non-millennials.
More than two-thirds of millennials will go to more than one
Thanksgiving event this year, spending not only on traditional items
like turkeys and pie crusts, but also on ingredients that fit into
gluten-free and paleo diets, according to Allrecipes, a food-focused
social network. Allrecipes says it is seeing triple-digit growth for
many recipes that fall into those categories.
Allrecipes expects to see bump in year-over-year spending on
alcohol, including wine and hard cider, and especially spirits like
bourbon.
The reason why millennials are spending more than other demographic
groups? They are participating in Thanksgiving meals more than once,
and sometimes on different days, according to Esmee Williams, vice
president of consumer and brand strategy at Allrecipes.
"(Millennials) are more likely to be buying more artisan,
local-crafted products," Williams says. "They pride themselves on
being tastemakers and trendsetters. So they will buy the products
that support their values and beliefs."
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A product's origin is especially important to younger shoppers, and
they are willing to pay more for it. "They see the creator as an
extension of their own story," she notes. Examples include
small-batch cheeses, free-range turkeys, artisanal maple syrups and
fair-trade coffees.
Millennials are using social media to share what they are serving,
too. According to Allrecipes 2015 Thanksgiving survey, half of
millennials plan to snap and share photos of the Thanksgiving foods
they prepare. And they are tapping mobile phones to search for words
like "epic" and "amazing" when looking for recipes.
After millennials eat, it is time to enjoy the latest Thanksgiving
tradition – online shopping. According to the Adobe Digital Index,
put out by the digital marketing and media firm, 39 percent of
millennials plan to use their mobile phone to shop on Thanksgiving.
Even more - 57 percent - will be spending some of that quality
shopping time in front of their computers.
As for Flegenheimer, she is excited to have a day off from work. "I
don't have a lot of traditions. That's why I do friendsgiving," she
says.
(Editing by Lauren Young and Cynthia Osterman)
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