An Early Easter is Bad for St. Pats

It's not enough that retailers struggle to find a niche to generate revenues online, now the word is that off-line retailers will also suffer a decline in year over year revenue on St. Patrick's Day. The National Retail Federation ("NRF") estimates overall revenues will decline by 3.2% from 2007 as a result of fewer customers, despite a slight increase in average per customer spending.

“Retailers and restaurants that benefit from the St. Patrick’s Day holiday are up against a double whammy of an early Easter and the holiday falling on a Monday,” said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin.

The 18-24 crowd are still the big celebrators and spenders, allocating an average of 20% more money per person than the average and they show much higher attendance than the average.

So if you are a bar or restaurant, I would not spend much marketing money trying to pull in families or married couples, spend those dollars luring college folks and those just out, that's your best bet for a solid return on investment.