51% of UK shoppers plan to celebrate or get involved in the Olympics according to research from Savvy. Younger shoppers (aged 18-34) are more likely to get involved (58%).
Among those who plan to follow the event:
- Just more than two-thirds intend to watch the event on TV
- Half expect to watch with friends and family
- 12% anticipate they’ll enter Olympic related competitions
- Around one in 10 report that they will host a planned get-together with friends or family
- A similar proportion say they will go to the pub
While football tournaments are often watched as a group (get in touch if you’d like a copy of Savvy’s Euros review), especially during the big games, the Olympics is more fragmented, with fewer must-watch events. This limits the scale of the commercial opportunity for food, drinks and hospitality businesses compared to events like the recent Euros.
That said, we know from previous research that excitement and interest in the Olympics tends to increase greatly once the event has commenced, especially when Team GB start winning medals.
To put this in perspective, following the Tokyo Olympics we found:
- 74% of shoppers said Team GB had made [them] feel proud
- 63% were surprised brands and retailers didn’t make a bigger deal of the Olympics
- 70% thought retailers and brands should do more to help the nation get more active
- 74% thought big brands and sponsors should help fund the next generation of Olympic athletes
Savvy will be running further research during the event to track shopper interest and engagement. We look forward to sharing the results.