Solutions

Industries

Resources

About

The Phenomenon of K-Pop Concert Merchandise

Not only having the highest average $/head of any genre in 2023 but the highest fan interest and engagement in merchandise so we put together more details on the phenomenon that is K-Pop merchandise!

Read time:

minutes

In the last few years the number of K-Pop concerts has grown drastically in the United States with merchandise sales at another level than any other music genre. Not only having the highest average $/head of any genre in 2023 but the highest fan interest and engagement in merchandise so we put together more details on the phenomenon that is K-Pop merchandise!

‍

TL;DR

Light sticks or bands on average range from 10-20% of the overall number of items sold
Always sell batteries, 80% of people purchase batteries when purchasing light up items
The average fan buys 4 items spending an average of $145
Most popular 4 items purchased together: T-Shirt, Light Stick, Photo Card and Batteries (second being T-Shirt and Pullover Hoodie with Photo Card and additional item)

‍

Let's dive in starting with how $/head has grown since 2019 (excluding 2020 for obvious reasons). For a reference point, the overall industry average in 2023 to date is $8.66.

‍

Trended K-Pop $/Head

‍

Fan Interest In Merchandise

Contributing to the overall increase in $/head is a combination of more fans attending concerts, the average prices of merchandise rising, the amount of merchandise purchased, and fan interest in merchandise.

‍

The percentage of fans at concerts buying merchandise has continued to grow for the industry as a whole over the last 5 years but K-Pop specifically has seen a larger growth over the same time frame.

‍

% Of Fans Buying Merchandise vs Industry Average

‍

‍

Product Lines For K-Pop Artists

Looking at the top items purchased by volume (not price), K-Pop accessories are much higher in volume of sales compared to any other genre with hoodies and sweatpants also more popular.

‍

Top Selling Products

T-Shirt

1st

Pullover Hoodie

2nd

Light Stick

3rd

Batteries

4th

Sweatpants

5th

Dad Hat

6th

‍

In addition to the light sticks, there are additional accessories that sell incredibly well that we want to share:

‍

Key Rings/Keychains

1st

Photo Cards

2nd

Stickers

3rd

‍

Over time we will have dedicated genre posts to go into a deeper dive into the insights and what can help artists and bands on upcoming tours, stay tuned!

‍

About atVenu & Our Data

The leading live event platform for artists, venues, festivals, and anyone running live events. Our product was built for live events with customized features sets built for your needs like artists and managing their tour inventory, counts, settlements, SoundScan reporting, and more. We are used at over 125,000 events each year and that data is what is used for our industry insight summaries.

‍

Want to see more data? Check out our 2023 year to date update on some of the other genres and how they compare to prior years.

Published:

January 3, 2024