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With the 2025 live event season in full swing, we’re seeing some surprising shifts in fan behavior—especially around attendance and merchandise spending. While fewer fans are attending shows on average, the fans who are showing up are spending more than ever. Here’s what we’re seeing so far.
The TL;DR:
- Fans are buying more items, not just paying more
- Offer lower-cost items like accessories to capture casual buyers
- Plan by genre — K-Pop, Punk, and EDM fans are top spenders
- Optimize booths for multi-item purchases if you are selling smaller type accessories, make them easily viewable and accessible
- Watch for softness in Hip Hop, Metal, and Latin markets
What Are Fans Spending At Concerts
On average, fans spend the most on merchandise, when buying merchandise, food, and drinks. On average, 22% of fans are buying merchandise at concerts.
Breaking It Down By Category
Merchandise
Has fan spending increased or decreased?
In 2025, the average fan is spending $64 pre-tax on merchandise—up 7% from 2024. Spend per head continues to scale with event size, ranging from $45 at smaller shows to $90+ at high-capacity events.
What is the industry average $/head by genre?
K-Pop fans are in a league of their own—spending surged 61% to $48.32/head. EDM, Punk, and Bluegrass also saw double-digit gains. Meanwhile, genres like Latin and Heavy Metal saw sharp drops, with Latin falling from nearly $30/head to just $7.46.
- K-Pop continues to show fan spending above all other genres, up +61% from 2024.
- EDM is showing a surge in both percentage of fans buying merchandise and fan spend with a 52% increase from last year during this time.
- Country, Funk, and Punk are all up +31%.
- Heavy Metal and Hard Rock are down -30% and -23%, respectively.
- Pop is showing a slight decline from 2024, down -5%.
Has the percentage of fans buying merchandise changed this year?
In 2024, the average was 21% between January and May, on par with 2023. In the middle of the year, it dipped down to 18%, unlike this year, where we saw the first few months at 18% and starting in May, it has risen to an average 21%.
How does fan interest in merchandise change by genre?
It's no surprise that K-pop merchandise remains the most popular, with 37% of fans purchasing merchandise. Metal and rock have notably increased from their 2024 averages, jumping into the top 5 of 18% and 21%, respectively. The country has also seen a significant increase in 2025, with larger tours averaging 16% compared to 13% at the same time last year.
How many items are fans buying?
Fans in 2025 are buying more than ever—averaging 2.1 items per purchase, up from 1.7 in 2024. The percentage of fans buying 2–3 items jumped to 33%, while single-item purchases dropped to 52%. Accessory sales are climbing across genres, helping push the average higher.
The top-selling merch items (by volume sold)
Accessories specifically have shown increased interest, with them being an add-on for fans, specifically for K-pop, pop, metal, and EDM. Sweatshirts have grown in popularity in 2025, along with a handful of accessory items. Vinyl and longsleeves have dipped since 2024.
Stay tuned as we continue to update these metrics throughout the summer and fall.
Cheers!
Updated: July 2025
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