Four years ago, during Super Bowl 50, we were excited about the game being hosted in our own backyard so we decided to put together a fun analysis of how the Super Bowl impacted the on-demand economy on the big day.
Back then, we saw a significant spike in alcohol delivery prior to the game, which might have been fans stocking the fridge before kickoff:
This year, with the San Francisco 49ers actually playing in the game (we still ❤️ you Jimmy G), we decided to run the numbers once again to see if anything has changed in consumer purchasing habits over the past few years. To derive our findings, we compared delivery volume on Super Bowl Sunday to the delivery volume from the previous, seemingly normal, Sunday.
It goes without saying, a lot has changed within the on-demand delivery world since Super Bowl 50 back in 2016 and our findings certainly show some of these changing consumer behaviors.
It's also important to note that we've grown significantly since our last Super Bowl analysis, so we have much more data this time around, yielding clearer results. Onfleet now powers millions of monthly deliveries around the world. This year, instead of just the Bay Area, we decided to look at delivery data from across the U.S.
Some of the interesting findings include:
Another massive spike in alcohol delivery
The data shows that you can't have a Super Bowl party without booze! We saw a major spike in alcohol delivery across the board, at times recording more than a 300% increase. Interestingly, the highest alcohol delivery spikes started bright and early at 9am and continued to about halftime.
Post game munchies are a thing
Interestingly, we saw a major restaurant delivery spike of almost 300% directly after the game. Whether these orders were coming from Chiefs fans who were too busy biting their nails during the game or inebriated Niners fans looking for a distraction from Kyle Shanahan's play calling, the post game pizza cravings represent a significant data point.
Party hosts did not utilize grocery delivery
Despite the rapid growth that we've seen within the grocery delivery segment, our data did not find a significant game day spike in grocery deliveries. One theory is that party hosts need time to marinate those famous thai-chili chicken wings or turn around times just haven't gotten fast enough to handle the pressures of game day hosting. Whatever the case, grocery delivery hasn't quite entered the big dance yet, which actually follows the macro story of growth within the industry.
It's crazy to think how much more room this lucrative space still has to grow! Shameless plug: read our guide to grocery delivery to learn more about one of the hottest segments in e-commerce.
Whether you watched for the Demi Lovato national anthem (thanks for the under, Demi), a great game of football or the JLo/Shakira half-time show, chances are delivery was in some way apart of your viewing experience.
Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs for winning their second title after a long 50 year hiatus. Chances the Niners deliver a rematch next year: 📈✅
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