Footy Fever – AFL and NRL Finals driving spending plus the NFL is in town

You better strap in cause football fans are in for a treat in the next month as we are spoilt for choice of games to support.

New research from the Adobe Digital Insights (ADI) team shows that it’s not only the teams and leagues that benefit from this time of year. Sales of so much more than tickets flow as our favourite teams slug it out.

With the NRL and AFL finals looming, plus the one-off NFL game between The San Francisco 49ers & The LA Rams at the MCG, sellers of merchandise, screens in various forms, beverages and food are just some of the beneficiaries of this football fever.

Recent blockbuster games such as State of Origin and Socceroos fixtures show that spending on streaming rose 74% and beer was up 34%.

So in the next few weeks it is anticipated that football merchandise across all three codes will rise 53%, online spending on screens will be around 14% and food and drink spending will rise 9% as households and workplaces gear up to celebrate.

According to ADI’s research, 73% of Australians say cost-of-living pressures won’t impact their spending on footy finals this year, with two in five (40%) expecting to spend over $150 celebrating. The most popular way to celebrate is hosting or attending a watch party in someone’s home (55%), making food and drink the one purchase fans are least willing to cut, with 78% calling it important.

And this year’s upcoming 49ers/LA Rams game at the G has seen spectacular increases in NFL merchandise sales in recent months.

Online traffic for merchandise is up 300% year on year in August and a 400% increase in September over August is expected.

The NFL’s presence in Australia coincides with news that 36% of Australians say they already follow the NFL, but it over-indexes with younger generations, with over half (58%) of 16–35-year-olds following the sport. A further 24% of Australians say they don’t follow the sport but plan to watch the Melbourne game.

Interestingly 39% of football fans agree that the entry of a new code only adds to their existing footy fandom, rather than competing with it.

For traditional fans of AFL and NRL it seems cost of living pressures won’t stem the flow of money to help us celebrate our homegrown codes.

The key finding show

• Online spending on screens (including streaming devices, projectors and TVs) is expected to increase 14%. Food and drink online spending is also expected see a lift: beer up 15%, soft drinks up 8%, corn chips and dips up 12%, pizza up 9% above average levels in August.
• The ADI consumer survey shows that 73% of consumers do not expect to decrease their spending on footy finals this year, despite cost-of-living pressures (45% expect no change, 23% said they will spend the same but be more selective, 5% expect to spend more)
• 40% of Australians expect to spend over $150 celebrating finals, and if their team made a final, almost a third (31%) would choose to spend more, with 27% willing to spend more than $1,000 to attend in person.
• Home celebrations are the most popular way Australians choose to watch a Grand Final, with 55% of people either hosting or attending a watch party.
• Food and drink topped the list of essential finals spending, with 78% of consumers deeming it important.

Vivek Pandya, Director of Adobe Digital Insights said: “The nation is about to have a big month of football celebrations, and our data shows Australians are willing to spend around moments like this, from merch to TVs and watch parties.

So stock up the pantry, the fridge and don that supporters jersey and get ready for some serious viewing and some serious spending. It’s only once a year so why not go big or go home?