Super Bowl Sunday, without a doubt the most official of unofficial American holidays, is fast approaching.
As we discussed in our recent article on the big game, an event with such a tremendous viewership is a veritable data collection dream. So how could we post about it just once, especially with our hometown Denver Broncos squaring off against the Seattle Seahawks and their legendary 12th Man? With so many fans and parties planned for February 2, the game is also one of the most significant sales opportunities of the year. So this week, we take a look at some of the merchandising figures and trends surrounding Super Bowl XLVIII.
For many, the Super Bowl is as much about getting together with friends and family to enjoy a cornucopia of food as it is about the game itself. As Adweek notes, Target has even launched a mobile game that “invites players to throw branded snacks towards jersey-donning party guests as they move around the living room.” According to the National Retail Federation’s Super Bowl Spending survey, “nearly 39 million viewers plan to throw a party and they can expect a high guest turn out, with 62 million eager viewers planning to attend a party. Restaurants and bars will see their share of fans; the survey found “10 million fans will enjoy the game from their favorite local establishment.” The survey notes that the estimated 181 million viewers who will tune into the game “will spend an average $68.27 on gameday grub, athletic wear decorations and televisions.”
Speaking of athletic wear, plenty of fans plan to celebrate the game in style with official Super Bowl apparel. When it comes to the host city itself, Sports Business Journal reports that the NFL is anticipating merchandise sales of more than $200 million, thanks in large part to the fact that the game will be played at MetLife Stadium in the New York/New Jersey media and entertainment capital. On January 22, the league opened a 36,000-square-foot NFL Shop within Macy’s flagship retail location on 34th and Broadway in Manhattan. At MetLife Stadium, attendees will encounter more than three times the point-of-sale locations compared to those at a regular season NFL game. And in a trend we have been tracking for the last several months, the stadium will experience a digital in-store transformation shift come Sunday, with vendor Sportservice implementing “25 customized iPods in the stadium’s 10,000-square-foot team store to complete transactions as a ‘line-busting’ maneuver.”
Of course, at GoSpotCheck, we are not only eagerly anticipating the big game and all its fun-filled traditions, but we are also here to advance effective and cutting-edge retail measurement, analysis and strategy, leveraging real-time information and data to bring merchandising into the 21st century. We are helping our clients make the most out of their own sales opportunities by arming them with user-friendly retail intelligence technology solutions each and every day.
