Higher ticket prices have created a lot of buzz around fan spending behavior. With fans having to spend more on tickets, are they spending less on merchandise, food, and drinks at concerts and festivals? We break that down in this blog post.

‍

‍

Concert Merchandise Stats

Are less fans buying merchandise at concerts?

No, in fact more fans are buying merchandise.

‍

‍

% of Artists Buy Merchandise

‍

Has the average $/head changed in 2023?

Yes, it is up +6%.

‍

Average $/Head

‍

Is $/head up across the board? Or only specific attendance groupings?

Attendance groupings ranging from 5-15K are slightly below the 2022 average with all others at least +5% higher than prior year.

‍

Average $/Head By Attendance Grouping

‍

Festival Merchandise Stats

Not only are more fans buying merchandise at festivals, but they are spending more as well with the average fan spending $66 (up 14% from 2022).

‍

Average Fan Spend On Merchandise At Festivals

‍

Festival Food and Beverage Stats

There have been comments around the cost of food and beverages at festivals increasing this year and impacting fan spend. And yes, both food and beverage pricing at festivals have increased slightly from 2022 with the average food item up +14% and the average drink item up 7-20%, varying based on the type of drink.

‍

Average Festival Food Prices

‍

Average Festival Drink Prices

Has this reduced how much fans spend per day at festivals?

No, it hasn't. Fan spend per day at festivals is actually up +10%. If you take into account the increase in prices, fan spend is comparable to 2022.

‍

Average Fan Spend On F&B

‍

The final thoughts

Having higher ticket prices translating to fans spending less at events is a legitimate concern but the data shows this is not happening. Fans are still buying merchandise, food, and beverage at the same vigor they were last year, if not more. As the season continues, we wi update these stats to follow fan spending behavior.

‍

Cheers!

‍