Consumers plan to spend some $14.8 billion on Super Bowl-related fare for next month’s Big Game, including food, beverages, team apparel and TVs.
According to an annual survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF), TVs tied for third place, with decorations, among this year’s top Super Bowl expenditures, at 7 percent of game watchers each. Both were trailed by furniture, including entertainment centers, at 4 percent of respondents who plan to tune in next Sunday, when the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots meet in Atlanta.
For TVs, that represents a decline from the 8 percent of fans who expected to buy new displays for last year’s Big Game, and the 7.7 percent who had planned to do so for the 2017 contest.
Total spending is also down, slipping 3.3 percent from last year’s $15.3 billion in game-related outlays. The NRF attributed the decline to lower anticipated viewership, although the expected expenditures are the third-highest on record, following 2018 and the all-time topper, 2016 ($15.5 billion).
To help spur sales and blow out 2018 model-year inventory, TV manufacturers and retailers are mounting myriad Super Bowl promotions, an annual tradition second only to Black Friday in tech deals.
Indeed, Samsung, for one, is taking 30 percent off direct sales of select its QLED and 4K Ultra HD TVs, including an 82-inch Q6FN QLED model that is retailing for $3,000, a savings of $1,500.
Similarly, LG is offering what it describes as its lowest prices ever for its OLED TVs, including a $1,000 savings off the original retail of its 65-inch B8 OLED 4K Ultra HD TV, which is selling for $2,300 through Feb. 2.
See: LG Drops OLED Prices For Super Bowl
For those more interested in a moderate screen size, a price search by Offers.com, a retail sale aggregator, found:
- a 50-inch Toshiba 4K Fire TV Edition LED with HDR (50LF621U19) for $379 on Amazon;
- a 43-inch LG UK6090 series 4K TV with HDR for $270 at Best Buy; and
- a 50-inch Vizio 4K TV with HDR (D50x-G9) for $298 at Walmart.
“Whether it’s to see who wins, watch the halftime show and commercials or just get together with friends, this is the biggest party since New Year’s Eve,” said NRF president/CEO Matthew Shay. “Spending is expected to be at one the highest levels we’ve seen. And retailers are ready whether you need food, team jerseys, decorations or a new TV.”
The survey of 7,384 adults 18 and older was conducted on behalf of the NRF by Prosper Insights & Analytics Jan. 2-9, before it was known which teams would play.
