CHICAGO — Football, they say, is a game of inches. But when it comes to statistics surrounding the sport, they have a mile’s worth.
And for Super Bowl Sunday, the data is, well, super.
New research from IRI, in the report “America Is Ready for Some Football,” indicates viewership of the battle between the Buccaneers and Chiefs will be consistent with last year’s numbers (up 2 percentage points from last year’s 59%). In addition, consumer packaged goods (CPG) sales will be strong, with transactions in “watch party” categories nearing $10 billion in the two weeks leading up to the game.
The report’s key findings include:
- COVID-19 will reduce viewing parties. Last year, 4 in 10 watched with their immediate family and nearly 20% watched at a party. In 2021, however, about half of viewers expecting to watch with immediate household members.
- 17% of viewers plan to watch with people outside their household, down from 22% in 2020.
- Younger millennials and Gen Z are more apt to report they’ll watch with friends compared with older generations.
- Consumers forecast their spending will increase modestly for 2021’s Super Bowl. The average spend is forecast to be $41.50, up $1.50 from last year’s event.
- More viewers (78%) will spend money on CPG products this year, up 7 percentage points from 2020.
- A strong proportion of consumers expect to buy many of the same brands they buy during the year, but a large amount also say they’ll purchase brands they normally “don’t buy to bring more of a party home.”
- A quarter of consumers will rely on prepared or delivered meals.
Breaking it out: 43% will buy snacks and beverages they usually have at home, 39% will buy extra snacks, 26% plan to order in and 24% expect to make a special dinner.
More than $1.4 billion chicken wings will be consumed during the game, the National Chicken Council forecasts, bolstering IRI research that indicates more parties at home for a 2% gain in consumption.
This increase will see chicken wing sales top $3 billion, a 10% growth in dollar sales.
Two-thirds of upper-income households expect to watch the game, compared with 58% in both the middle- and lower-income categories.
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