Washington, March 3, 2008 – The luck of the Irish has not been extended to St. Patrick’s Day this year as a calendar shift is likely to hamper spending. According to the National Retail Federation’s 2008 St. Patrick’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions survey, conducted by BIGresearch, consumers will spend an estimated $3.64 billion on St. Patrick’s Day, less than last year’s $3.76 billion.

Though the average person will spend slightly more on the holiday than they did last year ($35.04 vs. $34.89), fewer people will be celebrating this year (46.0% in 2008 vs. 48.3% in 2007). One of the primary reasons for a dip in celebrating is that, for the first time since 1940, St. Patrick’s Day falls during Holy Week, the sacred seven days before Easter. In fact, some cities, like Savannah, GA; Philadelphia and Milwaukee, are moving their city celebrations to March 14, the Friday before St. Patrick’s Day.

“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. “With the holiday just six days before Easter, many retailers are finding that they don’t have enough space on their shelves to promote shamrocks and Easter bunnies at the same time.”

Restaurants and bars are still poised to see strong sales for the holiday. According to the survey, nearly one-third of consumers (30.6%) will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by attending a party at a bar or restaurant. In addition, one in five will attend a private party (18.4%) or make a special dinner (33.7%). Others will celebrate the holiday in smaller ways by wearing green (82.5%) and decorating their home or office (23.6%).

Young adults remain the largest celebrators of the holiday, with more than two-thirds (71.8%) of 18-24 year-olds planning to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. And at $42.20 per person, young adults will also spend more than average.

The NRF 2008 St. Patrick’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to tax returns. The poll of 7,977 consumers was conducted from February 5-12, 2008. The consumer poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0 percent.

BIGresearch is a consumer market intelligence firm that provides unique consumer insights that are gathered online utilizing very large sample sizes. BIGresearch’s syndicated Consumer Intentions and Actions survey monitors the pulse of more than 7,000 consumers each month to empower its clients with unique insights for identifying opportunities in a fragmented and changing marketplace. www.bigresearch.com

The National Retail Federation is the world's largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores as well as the industry's key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents an industry with more than 1.6 million U.S. retail establishments, more than 24 million employees - about one in five American workers - and 2007 sales of $4.5 trillion. As the industry umbrella group, NRF also represents more than 100 state, national and international retail associations. www.nrf.com