Home Depot stores located in the area of Reno, Carson City, and Nevada’s Black Rock Desert–where Burning Man takes place–create special Burning Man sections that cater to people who are headed to the annual festival. These stores report huge sales spikes for certain items.
From the company’s blog:
The demand for certain products is remarkable. Dust masks see a 521% increase in sales during the two weeks prior to the event. Tarps also fly off the shelves; in an average week, 25,115 square feet of tarp are sold, but in the throes of Burning Man, 5 times that amount is rung up at the cash register (more than 126,000 square feet)….
Aside from ropes and generators, Home Depot stocks up on everything from florescent spray paint—take your pick of pink, yellow, orange or green— to glow-in-the-dark spray paint and rubber bands. In an average week, Nevada Home Depot stores sell around 450 packages of rubber bands. That number soars to 12,800 packages in the days leading up to the event.
Graph of Home Depot’s data from Tools of the Trade: “Home Depot Preps for an Onslaught of Burners“