The Super Bowl delivers more than a championship. It triggers one of the most concentrated bursts of consumer activity all year. As kickoff approaches, millions of households research, compare and buy to get game-day ready.

From 2023 to 2025, Super Bowl-related spending consistently surged in early February and held steady through Super Bowl Sunday, with notable growth in TVs (+33%), grocery (9%) and team merchandise (300-1,200%). But the bigger shift isn’t just what fans are buying. It’s how they’re deciding.

AI-powered referral traffic is up more than 400%, with affiliate and social channels also gaining momentum (+16%). Fans are increasingly turning to AI-driven search for inspiration, product comparisons and last-minute answers and that behaviour is fundamentally changing how brands earn attention during these major cultural moments.

AI-driven discovery is the Super Bowl’s rising star.

As highlighted in Adobe Digital Insights’ 2025 Holiday Shopping Recap, AI-driven retail traffic surged nearly 700% year-over-year during the holiday season and that momentum carried straight into Super Bowl weekend. In the week leading up to game day, AI referral visit share is expected to jump 471.5% year-over-year, signalling a surge in high-intent discovery as fans finalise their game-day plans.

On Super Bowl Sunday itself, AI referrals are projected to be 444.1% higher than last year and 176.6% above the average for a typical Sunday. The takeaway is clear: during moments of peak demand, brands that surface clear, credible and easily discoverable answers are the ones most likely to win customer attention and remain top of mind. This is especially true during high-stakes cultural moments when competition for consideration is at its highest.

Why it matters: Discovery is no longer confined to traditional search. As consumers increasingly rely on AI to inform their decisions, brands must optimise for visibility, accuracy and trust across AI-driven touchpoints.

Digital channels are shaping where Super Bowl dollars flow.

As Super Bowl hype builds, digital channels increasingly determine who captures demand. On Super Bowl Sunday, 2025, affiliates and partners drove 18.9% of total retail revenue - an 8.7% lift over the January 2025 average and the strongest performance this channel has seen to date.

This momentum is accelerating. This year, affiliate revenue share is projected to reach 22.1%, up 16.9% year-over-year. Social channels, while smaller in share, continue to punch above their weight as excitement builds. Social revenue is expected to rise from 4.0% in 2025 to 4.6% for the 2026 Super Bowl, representing a 15.9% increase year-over-year.

Traffic tells the same story. On Super Bowl Sunday, visit share is expected to climb across major social platforms, led by TikTok (+40.1%) and YouTube (+25.7%), with steadier gains on Instagram (+5.0%).

Why it matters: Affiliate and social channels aren’t just supporting players. They’re driving revenue during high-intent moments. Optimised customer journeys - including messaging, creator partnerships and performance optimisation across these channels - can influence outcomes when consumers are ready to buy. influence outcomes when consumers are ready to buy.

TVs: Bigger is better for watching the big game.

For fans watching the game from home, upgrading the at-home experiences brings them as close to the field as possible. Large-screen TV sales surge around the game, led by 70-inch-and-larger sets. Between 1 February through Super Bowl Sunday over the last three years, these premium TVs averaged a 59% lift in sales.

TV demand peaks right before kickoff. On Super Bowl Eve in 2025, online TV sales jumped 45% overall, while sales of 70-inch-plus screens surged 88%. This year follows a similar playbook, with TV sales already running about 30% above average January daily levels as fans lock in last-minute upgrades.

Why it matters: The Super Bowl isn’t just a single-day sales moment. It’s a compressed decision window for high-consideration purchases. Shoppers researching premium TVs are actively comparing features, prices and retailers in the days and weeks leading up to kickoff. Brands that surface clear product differentiation, trusted reviews and timely promotions during this window are far more likely to capture demand before it peaks. This is where discovery, merchandising and last-mile messaging must align to convert intention into action.

Grocery: Game-day rituals drive last-minute demand

If TVs set the stage for the Super Bowl, groceries fuel the experience. Each year, game-day rituals create predictable but intense bursts of demand across food and beverage categories.

Last year, chicken wings led the charge, with sales jumping 179% over Super Bowl weekend, representing the largest spike across grocery items. But the biggest surge didn’t happen during the game itself. Super Bowl Eve emerged as the most important shopping day, with total grocery spending up 25% compared to the average Saturday in January.

Beyond chicken wings, fans stocked up on other classic game-day staples. Chips and dips rose 90%, soft drinks climbed 81%, ranch and blue cheese dressings increased 67% and condiments jumped 31% as households prepared for watch parties.

This year is expected to follow a similar pattern. Overall grocery spending is projected to rise about 9% year-over-year, with especially strong growth in sugar and sweets (+45%), soft drinks (+45%) and familiar favourites like chips, salsa and wings (+40%).

Why it matters: Grocery spending around the Super Bowl is driven by urgency and routine. Shoppers often make decisions days or even hours before kickoff, creating a critical window for visibility. Brands that show up with timely promotions, localised availability and frictionless paths to purchase can win in these high-velocity moments. This is a reminder that speed, relevance and placement matter just as much as price when consumers are racing the clock.

Team merchandise: Winning drives spending

Across major sports leagues, few things spark merchandise demand like a playoff win and the NFL is no exception. When teams advance, fans respond fast. Historically, AFC and NFC champions see online merchandise sales jump between 800% and 1,200% on the day of and the day after their conference victories compared to the average sales in early January. This year followed that trend, with the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots posting a combined 850% surge after securing their championship wins.

The momentum doesn’t stop there. Over the past three years, a Super Bowl victory has driven the second-largest spike in team merchandise spending, with champions seeing sales rise 300% to 500% above early-January norms. Whoever lifts the Lombardi Trophy at Super Bowl LX (2026) is expected to see a similar post-win rush as fans lock in memorabilia from a championship season.

Why it matters: Merchandise spikes tied to wins are among the most emotionally driven purchase moments of the year. Speed is everything. Brands that can quickly activate creative, update product assortments and surface winning-team gear across digital channels are best positioned to capture this short-lived but powerful surge. These moments reward brands that can combine real-time signals with agile execution to turn fan emotion into immediate revenue.

What these insights reveal about unlocking opportunity at peak moments

The Super Bowl remains one of the most powerful cultural and consumer moments of the year - not just because of its scale, but because it reflects how buying behaviour is changing in real time. Fans move fluidly across channels, discover products through AI-powered experiences and make high-impact decisions in a compressed window of time. From big-screen TVs to last-minute groceries and emotionally driven team merch, success hinges on showing up at the right moments with the right experience.

This lesson extends far beyond game day. Moments like the Super Bowl expose the growing complexity of customer journeys and the rising expectations that come with them. Discovery no longer happens in a single place. Intent shifts quickly and relevance is earned by brands that can connect data, content and creativity into experiences that feel timely, trusted and personal. That’s where the opportunity begins.

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Vivek is the director of Adobe Digital Insights who has worked with some of the largest CPG & Technology organisations, in the world, to drive key digital marketing & data science initiatives. As the Director for Adobe Digital Insights (ADI), he launched & spearheads the popular Adobe DEI (Digital Economy Index) & Holiday Retail reports, as well as other industry reports that profile emerging technology, creativity and travel trends.

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