Retailers respond to the newest omnichannel holiday – the Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is evolving into a mainstream consumer celebration.

In columns I wrote in 2024, I described how Halloween is becoming a spending event on par with Christmas and Thanksgiving and how football season is turning into the latest omnichannel selling season.

Now, the grand finale to the football season, the Super Bowl, is emerging as a single-day event with consumer participation and interest approaching that of calendar mainstays such as Christmas. 

According to data from Numerator, two-thirds of consumers will watch the “Big Game,” and a combined half of those viewers will host or attend a home gathering or watch in a bar or restaurant. This is a national party, and retailers and brands want to be sure they’re included on the guest list via every selling and marketing channel possible.

In observance of the upcoming holiday, here’s a look three different ways retailers and brands are reaching out to consumers celebrating the Super Bowl:

Shoppable streaming

The Tubi streaming service is providing shoppable curated digital stores as part of its Super Bowl coverage. The ad-supported streaming service, owned by Fox Corp. (which has broadcast rights to Super Bowl LIX), is offering a shoppable experience called “The Tubi Red Carpet Shop” in partnership with the Shopsense AI livestream shopping platform.

Tubi viewers are able to purchase items within curated digital stores by visiting shop.tubi.tv on their smartphones through Feb. 9. Assortment includes game day party essentials, trends inspired by football player wives and girlfriends, audio products inspired by music from the Super Bowl, and team apparel and fan gear.

Direct-to-consumer drones

PepsiCo and Wing will be delivering free game-day snacks to select customers during Super Bowl weekend. The CPG food and beverage giant and Wing, the on-demand drone delivery provider powered by Google’s parent company Alphabet, will let customers in Frisco, Texas (Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex) order a free “PepsiCo Party Pack” via the Wing app during Super Bowl weekend.

The promotional pack features Doritos chips, Tostitos dips, and Pepsi Zero Sugar soda, in time for Super Bowl kick-off in New Orleans on Feb. 9. This marks PepsiCo’s first foray into drone delivery.

Wing’s automated, all-electric drones can deliver small items and meals in minutes, cruising at approximately 65 mph at a height of about 150 feet. The drone will lower customer orders to the turf for them to unpack.

Discount bundles 

Walmart and Amazon have both offered special holiday bundles for Christmas and Thanksgiving, featuring portions of products such as turkey, ham, stuffing and pie in a heavily discounted package which can be customized to serve the number of guests the customer is expecting.

Typically, these bundles are available to purchase online for home delivery or in-store pickup, and in some cases can also be purchased by in-store shoppers. 

In another sign the Super Bowl is taking its place among the top U.S. consumer holidays, Walmart and Amazon are both providing sports fans with specially discounted "Game Day" meal promotions featuring tailgate menu favorites with delivery and in-store pickup options.

[READ MORE: Walmart, Amazon offer 'Game Day' discount meals]

And even those consumers lucky enough to attend the Super Bowl in person will benefit from advanced omnichannel technology. Parish Pizza & Provisions, featuring Little Caesars, located in Section 115 in Caesars Superdome in New Orleans where the game is taking place, will have 12 Samsung kiosks running the Grubbrr self-ordering system available in the area.

Customers place and pay for orders at the kiosks and then pick up their orders at a nearby food locker.  The kiosks also enable consumers to browse and order from several different stadium venue menus simultaneously and then pick up their entire order at a single location.