Thanksgiving is a day for turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie.
But increasingly it’s a day for French fries, according to GrubHub. The online restaurant ordering service reports that sales of fries have spiked on Thanksgiving since 2012, with cheese fries sales rising 230 percent on Thanksgiving Day in 2014 compared with that day in 2012. Waffle fries orders increased 89 percent, and generic French fries jumped 44 percent.
Classic mashed potatoes also do well on Thanksgiving. Sales of the item rose 81 percent on Thanksgiving Day in 2014 compared with the 2012 holiday.
GrubHub noted other trends, too. For instance, people like to have breakfast delivered while they’re cooking turkey. Online breakfast orders spiked 139 percent on Thanksgiving Day last year compared with the previous four Thursdays. Those breakfast orders were six times more likely to include fried egg sandwiches than on a typical Thursday. Huevos rancheros were six times more likely to be included in Thanksgiving breakfast orders; Belgian waffles were five times more likely to be ordered; and French toast was four times more common in morning orders on the holiday.
Orders for turkey, the traditional star of the day, rose 39 percent, and group orders increased 13 percent.
For dessert, apple pie orders increased fourfold, strawberry cheesecake jumped 300 percent, and orders for chocolate mousse cake, red velvet cake and tiramisu all doubled.
People are a little more generous on Thanksgiving, with the average tip 3 percent higher than on other days.
Once Thanksgiving is over and shopping begins, it’s time to feed the kids. Kids’ menu orders spiked 40 percent on Black Friday of 2014 compared with the annual average of kids’ meal orders.
The following Sunday, consumers are ready to detox, as orders of chopped salad, brown rice, avocado rolls and tom kha soup jump by 36.5 percent, 32.3 percent, 35 percent and 29.2 percent, respectively.
Grilled chicken Caesar salad orders were 21.7 percent higher on the Sunday following Thanksgiving 2014 than on typical Sundays, and chicken Caesar wrap orders grew 20.8 percent.
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