Festival fever: one in five Brits to prioritise festivals over holidays this summer

With just over a week to go until Glastonbury festival, new research from eBay Ads finds that one in five Brits (20%) plan to prioritise music festivals over holidays this summer as festival fever grips the nation. The study indicates that this summer’s bumper festival season is set to be bigger and better than the years before.

The findings, based on a survey of UK consumers, reveal that almost three in ten (28%) Brits expect this festival season to be the biggest following the pandemic, with a further 22% saying this is the most excited they’ve been for festival season since before the pandemic hit.

Meanwhile, the findings show millennials will take centre stage in festival attendance this summer. Four in ten (38%) respondents aged 25-34 say they’re more inclined to attend a festival this year due to the lack of festivals from COVID-19 restrictions in previous years, and three in ten (28%) plan to attend multiple festivals.

And it looks like Generation X will be joining millennials in the front row, as one in five (21%) of those aged 45-54 say they also plan to attend at least one festival this year.

Fashion items fundamental to festival purchasing priorities

Over one in five (21%) consumers reveal they have already started shopping for music festival items ahead of this summer’s events – and unsurprisingly, the research found that fashion items, including clothing and footwear (e.g. outfits, waterproofs, wellies), accessories (e.g. sunglasses, hats, jewellery) and bags (e.g. rucksack, bum bag) were consumer purchasing priorities for the coming months.

However, despite those prepared punters, eBay search data illustrates that the search for last minute looks won’t be going anywhere this year. For instance, in the week before Glastonbury 2022 (13 – 19 June), searches for ‘bucket hat’ and denim shorts’ both rose by around 30% when compared with the week prior (6 – 12 June). ¹

Reselling resurgence – and not just tickets

As the circular economy continues to boom, Brits’ interest in preloved festival purchases continues to rise. A quarter (24%) of UK consumers say they are more likely to buy second-hand festival items this year due to financial constraints, whilst over one in five (21%) are likely to do so in order to shop more sustainably.

Of those Brits planning to buy festival items this summer, over a third (36%) intend on purchasing sustainable items such as eco-friendly glitter or solar powered lights. A further 32% plan to buy second-hand clothing, and a quarter (26%) will be looking for second-hand camping items and equipment.

“After a few years riddled with cancellations and uncertainty, festival fever is back with a vengeance as some Brits prepare to ditch holidays for multiple festivals this summer. Fashion is inevitably still a priority for many, with clothing, accessories and bags topping the list of items festival-goers are planning to buy over the next few months. But as financial constraints and sustainability concerns pique Brits’ interest in preloved items, brands and sellers alike should consider offering a variety of options if they wish to secure the headline slot this summer.”

Upasana Gupta, GM, eBay Ads UK

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Methodology

All data taken from consumer research undertaken on behalf of eBay by Censuswide, with fieldwork conducted between 26h and 28th April 2023. The survey sample was 1,000 nationally representative UK respondents. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society which is based on the ESOMAR principles.