UK consumers are festival-focused, fashion is key says eBay research

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 1, 2023

As festival season gets under way in the UK, new research shows that consumers are more focused on festivals this year than on holidays, and this is a key development for the fashion sector.

That's according to an eBay Ads survey of 1,000 consumers. It said this summer’s festival season will be the biggest since last decade and 20% of consumers say it’s more important to them than summer holidays. Meanwhile, 22% said they’re more excited about this festival season than the have been for years. 

That's clearly unsurprising, given how the pandemic disrupted festivals in 2020 and 2021, although 2022 was an almost normal season. 

The study shows that Millennials are the keenest group as far as festival attendance is concerned. Some 38% of those age 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 28% planning to attend multiple events.

And Gen X are very festival-focused too with 21% of those aged 45-54 saying they also plan to attend at least one festival this year.

So what will this mean for fashion? Well, quite a lot. A hefty 21% of consumers have already started shopping for festival items ahead of this summer’s events, and fashion items, including clothing and footwear (such as festival outfits, waterproofs, rain boots), accessories (like sunglasses, hats, jewellery) and bags (rucksacks, belt bags) are consumer purchasing priorities for the coming months. 

But many shoppers are also likely to buy their festival fashion closer to the date. eBay search data shows that 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 before.

The survey also showed that 36% of respondents intend to buy sustainable items for festival essentials like eco-friendly glitter or solar powered lights. A further 32% plan to buy secondhand clothing.