WNBA Fans Love Their Moms The Most
Sure, sports fans have love for their team, their favorite players, and sometimes even their favorite outfield pole. But as Mother’s Day approaches, we wanted to solve a fascinating question: Which sports fans love their moms the most?
At Sports Innovation Lab, we let the data do the talking. We turned to our proprietary database of more than 10 million consumers to analyze their purchasing habits around Mother’s Day to determine which sports league’s fans demonstrated the most love for their moms. The answer? Well, if how much you spend on mom is any indication of how much you love her (which in our analysis, it is), then the answer is clear: WNBA fans love their moms the most!
To complete our analysis we did the following:
We created a list of retailers and ecommerce companies where we know the majority of US consumers shop for Mother’s Day. Vendors included (but were not limited to): FTD, 1800Flowers, Harry & David, Edible Arrangements, Urban Stems, and more.
Using our proprietary database and segmentation tools, we identified fans of specific leagues based on criteria such as having purchased tickets to games, subscriptions to premium channels/content, and/or merchandise purchases for specific teams/leagues.
We then analyzed the average spend per fan, by league, across all of the identified Mother’s Day gifting retailers during the month of May to determine which league’s fans spent the most on mom.
To make sure this wasn’t a one-off, we looked at average spend per fan from 2017 - 2021, and found that the WNBA fans consistently outspent fans of other leagues every May.
So what are the implications of knowing that WNBA fans are the real mama’s boys & girls out there?
To start, gifting retailers should prioritize the WNBA when thinking about sponsorship opportunities for gifting occasions like Mother’s Day. The data indicates that working with the league or utilizing athletes as ambassadors is a smart move around key gifting occasions.
For the WNBA, Mother’s Day is a great time to do something extra for fans in person and virtually. From special Mother’s Day ticket packages and pre-game experiences, to shoulder content highlighting players and their moms, the audience is ripe for the emotional connection.
At Sports Innovation Lab we’re obsessed with the insights and stories data can tell us. Father’s Day is right around the corner, so stay tuned….maybe NFL fans will come out on top!