Deck the halls

In a September bulletin, we found that holiday excitement was already growing on social media. In fact, consumer anticipation for the holidays has been much higher than in previous years and people have begun decorating for the season much earlier than normal.

We found that mentions of decorating for the holidays were 14% higher in November 2020 compared to the average number of mentions in November 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Freshly-cut trees were a huge topic within festive decoration conversation on social media. We found 292k mentions in November 2020, an increase of 10% in comparison to the same month in 2019. It’s also worth noting that tree sellers in the US and the UK are already reporting bumper sales.

This is an indication that, while in-person festivities could be smaller this year, people are spending the extra time to make it feel special and are more likely to splurge on higher-end decorations as a treat. And it’s not just about how things look, either.

Scent the halls

Speaking of freshly-cut Christmas trees, consumers’ attention to scent over the holidays is really important. Our research shows that people talk more about smell in November and December than in any other month of the year.

But what smells are people talking about in relation to the holidays? Is it roast turkey? Pigs in blankets? Or treats left out for Santa?

The scent of fresh trees was the most popular Christmas scent over the last three years,  with 59k mentions on social media.

This was followed by the smell of baked goods (26k mentions) and cinnamon (15k mentions).

The smell of candy canes was also very popular. We found 9k mentions of the sweet festive treat on social media, and another 8k mentions of gingerbread. Perhaps surprisingly, both of these were considered to be candle scents, as opposed to people talking about how the real items smell.

The strange case of scented candles

That brings us nicely onto how candles have fared in 2020. It turns out consumers have taken an extraordinary interest in them throughout the year.

Mentions of candles on social media have been 83% higher so far this year compared to the average volume over the same period in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Meanwhile, Google Trends data revealed that worldwide search interest in candles reached a five-year high in November after climbing throughout 2020.

When we looked at candle mentions, we found that the main topic of conversation was relaxation (444k mentions) and baths (355k mentions). As people spent more time in the home this year and began to focus more on self-care, it’s no surprise that associated accessories like candles became items of interest.

That said, not everyone is happy with their candle purchases. In this humorous Twitter thread, @Kate_ptrvs digs into the review data around people claiming scented candles don’t smell of anything. Since lack of smell is a known symptom associated with Covid-19, she has branded scented candles an unexpected victim of the pandemic.

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Brandwatch React Team