Food & Beverage Retailers Win as Consumers Host Super Bowl Parties

IRVINE, Calif. — After the last few years of virtual viewing parties because of COVID-19 restrictions, consumers are ready to get together for arguably one of the biggest nights of the year: Super Bowl Sunday.

This year, 54 percent of U.S. adults — and nearly two-thirds of men — expect to watch the big game. In fact, as early as the second week of January, well before the team matchup was determined, six in 10 adults anticipated hosting or attending a Super Bowl party, according to the latest survey from Advantage Solutions entitled "Super Bowl 2023: Who'll Be Watching and How Will They Be Spending?"

Approximately 66 percent of respondents say they plan to buy special food and drinks for the occasion, whether watching alone or with others. Of this cohort, one-quarter plan to spend $50 or less; nearly half (48 percent) expect to spend between $51 and $100; 16 percent will spend $101 to $150; and 10 percent will spend more than $150. Among party hosts, more than half (52 percent) plan to spend more than $100 on food and drinks for the big day.

Topping the game-day menu party, hosts plan to serve are salty snacks, beer and pizza, with prepared sandwiches and giant submarine sandwiches close behind.

According to the survey, 49 percent of party hosts plan to buy from a supermarket some or all of the ready-made hot and cold entrees and side dishes they plan to serve.

Other key findings of the survey include: 

• While more than one-third of adults who plan to watch the Super Bowl say the game is the most interesting thing about Super Bowl Sunday, more than one-quarter say they're interested equally in all aspects of the day: the game, the commercials, the half-time show, the opportunity to be social, and the food and drink. Men and older adults are much more likely than women and younger adults to say the game is what interests them most, while women and Gen Z adults are much more interested in the half-time show than men and older adults are.
• Twenty-two percent of those who plan to watch the game this year say they'll host a party. More than one-quarter (26 percent) plan to attend someone else's party and 13 percent plan to attend a party at a restaurant or bar. Half of those planning to host a Super Bowl party this year expect more than 10 guests.
• Fifteen percent of those who plan to watch the game say the commercials are the most interesting part of the televised event. But just how effective are those multimillion-dollar 30-second ad spends? About one-third (31 percent) of all adults surveyed said a Super Bowl commercial has influenced them to buy a product or service in the past two years.

"Super Bowl 2023: Who'll Be Watching and How Will They Be Spending?" surveyed more than 1,000 adult men and women. A download of the report is available here.

Irvine-based Advantage Solutions is a leading provider of outsourced sales and marketing solutions to consumer packaged goods companies and retailers.