Australian watch party spending rises on sport finals

Adobe Digital Insights reported a rise in Australian online spending tied to NFL and football watch parties, spanning merchandise, food, drinks and home entertainment.

New figures from the analytics group show the biggest jump came during the NFL opening weekend. Online traffic for NFL team merchandise rose 88% year on year and was 408% above average August levels. Traffic to AFL team merchandise was 84% above August levels and 17% higher than a year earlier, while NRL merchandise traffic rose 33% above August and 16% year on year.

The data also points to a broader lift in home-viewing spending as households prepare for a run of major sporting fixtures. Over the same weekend, online spending on drinks and snacks climbed 17% above average August levels, with beer up 24%, soft drinks up 13%, corn chips and dips up 12%, and pizza up 21%.

Retail categories linked to hosting also gained. Spending on screens rose 41% above average August levels, including streaming devices at 23%, projectors at 47% and televisions at 49%.

Outdoor cooking products also benefited. Spending on outdoor BBQs, grills and smokers rose 38%, while cookware increased 24% above August levels.

The figures reflect growing interest in sport-related viewing occasions that extend beyond ticket sales and traditional merchandise purchases. Adobe Digital Insights tracks hundreds of millions of transactions and visits to Australian retail sites each month through Adobe Analytics.

Vivek Pandya, Director of Adobe Digital Insights, said the NFL event appeared to draw interest beyond established followers of the sport.

"The surge in online traffic to NFL team merchandise this weekend confirmed what our data was already pointing to - Australians didn't need to be lifelong NFL fans to get behind the sport. We saw real momentum in merchandise interest, and a genuine lift in watch party spending, from screens to snacks.

"And this is just the opening whistle. With the AFL and NRL Grand Finals still to come, we're seeing spending build across drinks, snacks, screens and BBQs as people prepare the ultimate watch party. We expect this pattern to continue over the next couple of weeks, presenting a real opportunity for Australian retailers," Pandya said.

The release also included a separate snapshot of digital retail traffic trends in August. Traffic from AI-driven sources rose 228% year on year, suggesting shoppers are increasingly reaching retailers through AI-based tools and assistants.

Affiliate traffic also strengthened during the month, increasing 21% year on year and 27% from July to reach 8% of total retail visits, according to the data.

Social traffic rose 20% from a year earlier, showing that social platforms and creator-led recommendation channels remain important sources of consumer discovery for retailers.

The spending trends come as merchants face a consumer environment in which discretionary purchases are often tied to specific moments and events. Sport finals and marquee international fixtures can create short bursts of demand across categories that would not usually move together, from food delivery and packaged drinks to televisions, projectors and outdoor cooking equipment.

For retailers, the pattern highlights how major sporting events can influence not only licensed merchandise sales but also adjacent household spending. The data suggests consumers preparing to watch at home are making a broader range of purchases linked to group viewing, including upgrades to entertainment equipment and outdoor hosting items.

Adobe Digital Insights uses Adobe Analytics to measure activity across Australian retail sites and monitors online prices for 100 million stock-keeping units across product categories to track shifts in the digital economy.