Washington, January 22, 2009--It’s almost February, and football enthusiasts across the country are gearing up for one of their favorite days of the year: the Super Bowl. According to a survey conducted by BIGresearch for the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association, an estimated 167 million adults (73.3%) will watch the big game this year, up from 158 million last year.Though more people will be watching the game, the parties may be scaled back. Super Bowl viewers plan to spend an average of $57.27 on food, merchandise, team apparel and even furniture, less than the $59.90 they said they’d spend last year. In all, shoppers will spend $9.6 billion for the game.
“With the economy on everyone’s mind, most Super Bowl viewers will tone down their plans this year,” said Mike Gatti, RAMA Executive Director. “Retailers will be featuring promotions on everything from televisions to potato chips with the hopes of bringing in sales in the midst of a difficult environment.”
While fewer people plan to buy electronics, apparel and furniture in anticipation of the big game, one category is seeing an increase: food and beverages. Nearly three-quarters of consumers (72.4%) will buy food and beverages for the evening, compared to 67.4% last year. Others will make more substantial investments by purchasing team apparel or accessories (5.6%), furniture (1.2%) or a television (2.7%) for the game.
According to the survey, less than half of Super Bowl viewers tune in for the game itself (46.1%). Instead, many Americans say the most important part of the Super Bowl is the commercials (26.9%), the half time show (7.1%) or just the opportunity to get together with friends (19.9%).
“At many Super Bowl parties, the room goes quiet when commercials begin,” said Phil Rist, Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, BIGresearch. “Americans are hoping that this year’s Super Bowl ads will provide a bit of humor and reprieve from the gloomy news they’ve been hearing lately.”
When it comes to the annual ritual of watching new and often over-the-top advertisements, 79.3 percent of people look at them as entertainment, 17.0 percent say they make them aware of the advertiser’s brand and 6.7 percent say the commercials influence them to search online for more information. The ads are not for everyone, though: almost one-quarter (21.4%) of people wish advertisers would save their money and pass the savings onto them.