Female MLB superfans buy merch more frequently than their male counterparts

The MLB 2024 season is under way, and fans graced the opening weekend in big numbers – many donning official merchandise supporting their teams. But how often do these fans purchase merchandise and are there differences based on demographic or other factors?

A YouGov Surveys poll run in February finds that a fifth of all MLB fans buy merchandise like jerseys, team hats and shorts every single season (20%). Another 15% buy gear every other season, while another fifth of them (19%) pick up gear once every three to five seasons. A plurality of fans are more conservative with their purchase frequency, buying gear less often than every half a decade (27%). Yet, only 16% of fans say they don’t buy gear at all.

Younger MLB fans buy more frequently, with a quarter of those aged 18-29 saying they buy every season (25%). Additionally, a fifth of them buy gear every other season (22%). Those aged 30-44 also present largely similar shares to their younger counterparts. But numbers dip significantly among the older age groups. Overall, just 19% of those aged over 65 say they buy gear either every season or every alternate season.

Women purchase gear less often than men – with nearly of third of them saying they buy less often than every five seasons (31%) compared to just 23% of men. That said, men are slightly more likely to be non-buyers (18% vs 13%).

Things get more interesting when examining MLB super fans – i.e., only those who say they are very interested in the league. Within this set, women are more likely to buy gear every season (40%) than men (33%), while also being less likely to be non-buyers (3% vs 8%).

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Methodology: YouGov polled 2,000 US adults online between February 29 to March 1, 2024. The survey was carried out through YouGov Surveys: Self-serve. The total sample of MLB fans is 774 adults. Data is weighted by age, gender, race, political affiliation, education level and region with quotas on age.