NCM and Affinity Solutions’ Research Study Identifies Link Between In-Theater Experiences and Elevated Consumer Spend

National CineMedia (NCM) and Affinity Solutions released the new study “Economic Impact Study: Moviegoing as an Indicator of Spend” this week, analyzing 8+ million moviegoers to find a predictive relationship between in-theater movie experiences and increased consumer spending.

Affinity Solutions worked with NCM’s data and technology platform, NCMx, to analyze the purchase behavior of millions of NCM moviegoers after watching a movie. Key findings included:

  • Moviegoers demonstrated 2x the elevated spend compared to non-moviegoers, spending more and spending more frequently across key categories such as retail, dining, travel, and automotive.
  • Regardless of what day the attendees went to the movies, these consumers spent more at bars and restaurants and on sporting goods, apparel, and digital content than those who stay home.
  • Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness viewers (which trended more towards Gen Z and Millennials) spent more on flowers, jewelry, and online gaming. Top Gun: Maverick viewers (which trended more towards Gen X and Boomers) spent more on appliances and landscaping.
  • All moviegoers drive significant incremental spend but differ when it comes to their preferred brands. For example, Delta, T-Mobile, and McDonalds received incremental sales lifts for attendees of Multiverse. Amazon, United Airlines, and Disney received incremental sales lifts for attendees of Maverick.

“The data has validated what we have always known: that moviegoers have their wallets out and are spending more than non-moviegoers, with their preferred brands,” NCM’s Senior Vice President of Insights, Analytics, and Sales Data Strategy Manu Singh said in a press release. “Not only can we measure and track that spend, but through NCMx we can target and retarget consumers before, during and after the movie experience. Advertisers should take note. Cinema has become the metaphorical last click – we are it.”

“Our analysis, spanning hundreds of millions of credit and debit card transactions, proves that moviegoing is an excellent signal for future consumer spend,” Affinity Solutions’ CEO Jonathan Silver said in the same press release. “Brands must continuously identify new opportunities for tangible outcome based marketing and true ROI [return on investment]. Affinity’s unique data driven performance analytics, combined with NCM’s media engagement illustrates valuable path to purchase insights.”

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