Television Sales Lead the Way for Super Bowl Sunday, According to RAMA

Television Sales Lead the Way for Super Bowl Sunday, According to RAMA
--Retail Group Expects 2.5 Million TVs to be Sold Before Big Day-- 

Washington, DC, January 24, 2007 – Consumers will be seeing the Super Bowl action more clearly this year as the high-def buying frenzy continues. According to the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association’s (RAMA) 2007 Super Bowl Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, more consumers plan to take advantage of retailers’ promotions of high-definition televisions for game day. In fact, 2.5 million consumers plan to purchase a new television for Super Bowl Sunday, up from the 1.7 million who said they would last year. 

The survey found that consumers plan on spending an average of $56.04 on Super Bowl-related merchandise, up from last year’s $36.78. Total spending for the February 4 Super Bowl is expected to reach $8.7 billion. 

“The Super Bowl is more than just a game – it’s a chance for companies to attract new customers by being creative, and often outlandish, in their advertisements,” said RAMA Executive Director Mike Gatti. “After an incredibly promotional holiday season, consumers can expect big sales on Super Bowl-related merchandise until game day.” 

According to the survey, 69.7 percent of consumers plan to celebrate the Super Bowl, compared with 65.9 percent last year. Of those that will be celebrating, 69.3 percent will be purchasing food and beverages and 6.3 percent will buy team apparel and accessories. In anticipation of the big day, 1.3 million consumers plan to buy new furniture, including new home entertainment centers. 

The survey also found that more people plan on throwing a party this year than last year (12.8% vs. 9.8%), and more people will be attending those parties (26.8% vs. 24.3% in 2006). Additionally, 9.2 million people plan to watch the game from a restaurant or bar. 

“The interest in this year’s Super Bowl is higher than in many other years, so retailers have an opportunity to win big with sales of electronics, team apparel, and food,” stated Phil Rist, Vice President of Strategy at BIGresearch. “As the price of flat-screen televisions continues to decrease, they are becoming more affordable for average consumers, which is contributing to an increase in TV sales.”  

While Americans say the game itself is still the most important part of the Super Bowl (32.1%), more than 40 million consumers (18.1%) said they will tune in because of the commercials. The 18-24 (22.2%) and 25-34 (26.3%) year-old age groups will be most likely to pay attention to the advertisements, compared to last year when 18.5 percent and 19.3 percent respectively said the commercials were most important.  

About the Survey
The Retail Advertising and Marketing Association's 2007 Super Bowl Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to the Super Bowl. The survey was conducted for RAMA by BIGresearch. The poll of 7,703 consumers was conducted from January 2-10, 2007 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0 percent.

BIGresearch is a consumer market intelligence firm that provides unique consumer insights that are gathered online utilizing very large sample sizes. BIGresearch’s syndicated Consumer Intentions and Actions survey monitors the pulse of more than 7,000 consumers each month to empower its clients with unique insights for identifying opportunities in a fragmented and changing marketplace

The Retail Advertising & Marketing Association, a division of the National Retail Federation, is a trade association of over 1500 retail marketing and advertising executives, plus their supporting partners from the advertising agency, media and service-provider areas. RAMA sponsors the annual Retail Advertising Conference, the largest single gathering of retail marketing and advertising professionals in the industry today. RAMA also produces the RAC Awards Competition, the most prestigious creative contest in retail. http://www.rama-nrf.org/

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