Happy Halloween! Which Sports Fans Are The Spookiest?


Sign up below to stay up to date on the sports stories changing our industry:


Happy Halloween! We hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday.

October is such a busy month in the sports world. There are MLB playoffs, NFL football, WNBA championships, NBA & NHL kick-offs, the final NASCAR races, men's and women's fall collegiate sports, and more. There is A LOT to watch and celebrate.

We are capping off this exciting month of sports and entertainment with Halloween, and we’re handing out data nuggets specifically around costume shopping. Sports-themed costumes often sneak into the vast array of pop culture references. While fans might visit a team or league store to grab officially licensed apparel, stores like Spirit Halloween are often the go to for more traditional costume shopping. Using Spirit Halloween as a beacon for Halloween shoppers, we sought to find out which sports and entertainment fan populations are most likely to go there.

Among sports, the results showed NBA fans have the highest concentration of Spirit Halloween customers. When we open the category to other forms of entertainment, like concerts & festivals or movie goers, the story changes

This data consists of 25 million anonymous U.S. debit and credit card holders, aggregated at the transaction level from 2016 - 2022.

In order to capture this audience, we measured everyone in our database who has gone to a sporting event or engaged in a transaction directly with a league or team. From there, we saw what percent of them spent with Spirit Halloween the same calendar year as when they transacted directly with a league or team.

2020 had dips in Spirit Halloween spending across all characteristics except for Concerts & Festival goers, NBA, NFL, and NHL fans. 2021 was a noticeable peak for all populations, likely driven by a post-pandemic recovery by both sports and Spirit Halloween.

While we await final numbers for 2023, we anticipate NFL fans, sports merchandise wearers, and movie goers top the rankings. Per Marisa Uzzolino, Spirit Halloween’s Brand Marketing Manager, Adult Barbie costumes are anticipated to be best sellers. Another costume that might not be driven by Spirit Halloween but more through sports retailers is Travis Kelce & Taylor Swift. These couple costumes are relevant pop-culture staples and will surely dominate the Halloween and sports communities this year.

We hope everyone had a great Halloween with all the sports, candy, and data one can consume responsibly. Keep an eye out for costumes in crowds across all major sporting events this week! all markets, however, Cleveland presents the strongest opportunity for ESPN Bet to capture streaming audience:

The Browns are a top fan base for Barstool Sportsbook customers.

Referencing SIL’s Fluid Fan theory, there is likely a high crossover of fans who root for the Browns and a Cleveland sports team affected by the fall of Bally’s Regional Sports Network - such as the Guardians. According to SIL data, 45% of active Browns fans also spent on the Guardians during the same 18-month time period.


If you're ready to create breakthrough fan experiences and connect with the Fluid Fan through technology, visit our website sportsilab.com or email info@sportsilab.com! Sign up for our Most Innovative Membership by emailing membersonly@sportsilab.com or visiting mostinnovative.com!


Previous
Previous

The Impact of OTT Streaming Platforms on the Sports Industry

Next
Next

ESPN Bet’s Next Move: Securing Cross-Channel Bettors