Brits get their gear together for summer festival fever

UK consumers are gearing up the biggest ever festival season this summer, with one in five Brits (20%) planning to prioritise events over holidays, with fashion items and sustainable essentials topping their shopping lists.

With under a month to go until Glastonbury kicks off, new research from eBay Ads indicates that this summer’s bumper festival season is set to be bigger and better any other.

The findings, based on a survey of UK consumers, reveal that almost three in ten (28%) Brits expect this festival season to be the largest since Covid-19 wiped out the events calendar, with a further 22% saying this is the most excited they have 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 to 34 say they are more inclined to attend a festival this year due to the lack of festivals from Covid 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 to 54 say they also plan to attend at least one festival this year.

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

However, despite those prepared punters, eBay search data illustrates that the search for last minute looks will also gather pace. For instance, in the week before Glastonbury 2022 (June 13 to 19), searches for “bucket hat” and “denim shorts” both rose by around 30% when compared with the week prior.

As the circular economy continues to boom, Brits’ interest in preloved festival purchases also 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, while 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 for festival essentials like 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.

eBay Ads UK general manager Upasana Gupta commented: “After a few years riddled with cancellations and uncertainty, festival fever is back and Brits are gearing to participate in summer festivals with a vengeance.

“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 would benefit from offering options that meet the Brit festival goers needs.”