US candle market retail sales

Americans bought more candles in proportion to how many pet insurance policies they signed, which suggests a household that is quietly preparing for two very different emergencies. The candle is for ambience. The policy is for the bill.

Both grew on broadly overlapping millennial spending patterns. Candle sales have risen as cozy-at-home aesthetics and self-care marketing took hold, while pet insurance has climbed as millennials entered prime pet ownership years and treated vet bills as a budget category. Same demographic, two different ways of feeling cared for.

So the correlation is one mood lit and one species protected, both upward. Neither is a substitute for sleep. Both are sold as such.