Understanding Performance Is Key To Increasing Chances At Success

Understanding Performance Is Key To Increasing Chances At Success

It’s an exciting time for basketball fans nationwide, with the finals set to begin today. Fans have been waiting for this moment all season long—and anticipation continues to build.

To add to the fun, Adobe, CMO.com’s parent company, is opening up its Adobe Analytics solution as part of its Defend With Data campaign. This will enable fans to analyze the impact that season-long performance has had at the big tournament. For example, users can run an analysis on their favorite players to build a case for why they are the best in the league.

Beyond the action on the court, compelling trends of interest to online retailers and shoppers related to basketball merchandise and memorabilia can also be found. In short, successful teams drive sales online, according to analysis by Adobe Digital Insights (ADI), which, using Adobe Analytics, measured merchandise sales during the professional basketball playoffs from 2015 to 2017.

In doing so, ADI examined all the must-haves for the serious basketball fan (think: T-shirts, jerseys, and basketballs) to the die-hard fan, such as rugs, statuettes, pillows, comforters, and even pajamas. It uncovered five telling insights about how valuable a playoff run can be to a team’s merchandise sales.

1. Just Playing Increases Merchandise Sales

During the two months of the tournament, teams that made it into the playoffs but lost on the first round saw their daily merchandise sales rise by 24% over their average daily sales for that year. On the flip side, those that didn’t make it to the playoffs saw an 87% decrease in average daily sales.

2. Winner Takes All

The two talented teams that made it to the finals saw an almost 200% increase in sales. Yet every round conquered had value: The conference semifinals and finals brought in +129% and +148% more daily merchandise revenue over yearly averages, respectively.

3. Double-Lift For Failing Fast

Fans were really excited about their teams’ return to the post-season. Teams that made it to the first round after missing the playoffs the previous year experienced double the normal lift in revenue.

  1. Late To The Game

Bandwagon fans are real. In 2017, champions from Golden State sold an astonishing 78% of their total merchandise sales during the post-season alone.

5. You Don’t Have To Win To Win

The average playoff team saw a significant percentage of its total sales (39%) come during the two months post-season.

To see whether you can benefit from the basketball post-season, head over to #DefendWithData to leverage basketball insights powered by the Adobe Experience Cloud.