Study: Fandom Drives the Modern Day Holiday Experience, From Family Traditions to Consumer Buying Trends

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Fan-favorite movies, television shows and video games directly shape the holiday experience for American families and impact their "path to purchase," according the 2016 Holiday Shopping Study conducted by Fandom, the largest entertainment fan site in the world. The study, taken by U.S. holiday shoppers, also reveals that engaged fans spend more money on key product categories and on "shopping holidays" than the average shopper. Among the findings:

Entertainment plays a central role in how people celebrate the holidays

• 79 percent of participants agree that introducing their kids to their favorite fandoms via movies, TV shows, and video games was "an important rite of passage in their family"
• 71 percent state that sharing their favorite movies, TV shows, and video games with their family is a part of the holidays
• 84 percent of parents agree that movies in particular bring the family together 

Passion for entertainment translates to holiday buying trends

• 75 percent of holiday shoppers reported to purchase fandom-related gifts, inclusive of video games, DVDs, gaming consoles and PCs, entertainment streaming service subscriptions and digital music service gift certificates among other items
• 74 percent of toy buyers purchased toys that featured characters or items from a movie, TV show or video game
• 52 percent of clothes buyers purchased apparel that featured characters or items from a movie, TV show or video game

Fans are power purchasers

• Fandom users, which represent the most engaged fan demographic, spend almost $150 more on holiday gifts than the average U.S. shopper, including $87 more on gifts for kids
• More than half of Fandom users shop on Black Friday and spend 36 percent more than the average U.S. shopper
• Fandom users spend +33 percent more on consumer electronics than the average U.S. shopper, +48 percent more on games than the average U.S. shopper and +31 percent more on computers than the average U.S. shopper

"Fandom is now a prevalent part of the holiday season. These findings underscore the value and influence of fans as consumers and tastemakers," said Zak Kirchner, Market Research Director at Fandom. "It's clear that entertainment-related fandom fosters generational loyalty that directly influences holiday shopping decisions. The entertainment, product and retail industries can now use this knowledge to better understand the buying power of this demographic and how to best engage them during the holidays."

For more information about Fandom, please visit www.fandom.com.

*According to comScore, 2016 

About Wikia, Inc.:
Launched in 2006 by co-founder Jimmy Wales, Wikia, Inc. is a global digital media company that is the home to Fandom powered by Wikia, an entertainment media brand and Wikia.org, a global advocacy and charitable entity.

Fandom is comprised of Fandom news and stories and 360,000 communities that cover a variety of entertainment passions, including movies, TV, games, comics, books, music and other lifestyle interests. Popular communities include Marvel, Wookieepedia (Star Wars), and Game of Thrones.

Fandom is the largest entertainment fan site in the world with a global audience of over 190 million monthly uniques (per Quantcast, 2016) and 48 million pages of content.

Press Contact:
Nikki Flynn
[email protected]

Full 2016 Holiday Shopping Study available upon request.

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SOURCE Fandom powered by Wikia