How Much Americans Spend During the Super Bowl

What are your plans for Super Bowl Sunday? If you’re like tens of millions of Americans, you’ll probably spend it with a lighter wallet.

In 2018, the average U.S. consumer spent more than $80 preparing for, and enjoying, the Super Bowl–the NFL championship game. According to a 2018 survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF), an estimated 188.5 million people watched last year’s matchup between New England and Philadelphia, shelling out more than $15 billion on apparel, Super Bowl party preparations, and booze.

Super spending

How are consumers supersizing their spending for the Super Bowl? Here are some examples.

• 11% will buy team apparel or accessories.
• 8% will buy a new TV.
• 18% will host a Super Bowl party, and 28% will attend one.

The biggest and most widespread expense is food and drinks, which 82% of Americans say they plan to purchase for the Super Bowl according to the NRF. When it comes to food and drinks, we have even more delicious data to share:

• Holy cluck! Consumers will eat around 1.33 billion chicken wings on Super Bowl Sunday. That’s enough chicken to circle the Earth nearly three times.

• Domino’s sells 13 million slices on Super Bowl Sunday, 30% more than usual.

• Americans bought more than $580 million dollars’ worth of beer during the Super Bowl in 2015. And spent another $109 million on liquor.

Other holiday spending

While the Super Bowl is only one of many national events on which U.S. consumers love to spend money, they tend to shell out more for it than other national celebrations. Here’s how their spending stacks up, according to data from the NRF.

Also, during the holiday season—roughly November through the beginning of January—Americans spend roughly $900 per person on gifts alone.