Go, Fight, Win…Shoppers!

The Super Bowl is an exciting time for all football fans, and/or people who just love a good party. But, it’s also a great time for marketers, as the cities of the competing teams often see a spur in economic activity before, during, AND post-Super Bowl.

We analyzed nine total weeks in 2017 – four weeks prior to the Super Bowl, Super Bowl week, and four weeks post Super Bowl, and found:

• People in the competing cities generally wait till the final weeks to buy their tickets. We saw that just three weeks prior to Super Bowl week in 2017, ticket providers’ sales among Georgia and Massachusetts (last year’s competing team states) saw a 24% spike from the weekly average.
• During the week of Super Bowl 2017, nationally, grocery sales were up 6.8% from the average and pizza sales were up 2.6%.
• During that same week, however, grocers in Georgia and Massachusetts, saw a 7% increase in sales, while pizza restaurants saw a 5% increase during Super Bowl week.
• While wholesale clubs didn’t see any major spikes nationally during that week, Georgia and Massachusetts wholesale clubs saw a 4% spend increase from the average.
• The euphoria around the big game causes more overall spending in competing team states. Georgia and Massachusetts customers spent nearly 16% more, overall, than the weekly average during Super Bowl week in 2017, while the national spend was actually below average that week.
• Nationally, people wait to see the winner to get their gear, as we see the national increase in sporting goods stores increase in the weeks post-Super Bowl.

While the Super Bowl is just one day, we see that the economic effects can linger for weeks beyond the game itself. So, for marketers looking to capture increased spend around the Super Bowl, specifically sporting goods retailers carrying team gear, you still have time to reach fans and drive sales.