FOMO Is Driving Aussies To Experience And Spend More, Finds Latest Eventbrite Research

More than two-thirds of millennial Aussies suffer from FOMO driven from social media. GOMO trend on the rise with a focus on music, food & drink festivals and sporting events Aussies have found a cure for FOMO- it’s all about GOMO.

2015 was the year of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) but 2016 is the year of GOMO (Get Out More Often), according to new research from the world’s largest self-service ticketing platform, Eventbrite.

An independent study of over 1000 Australians for Eventbrite revealed that Australians are planning to see more, do more, and spend more on entertainment in 2016, injecting cash into the nation’s thriving live events market.

Social media still fueling FOMO in Australia

Social sharing is as prevalent as ever, and the effect is that it’s driving FOMO.

• 40 per cent of Aussies surveyed admitted that seeing social posts from friends and family drives the feeling of FOMO for them, with Facebook and Instagram reigning as the dominant platforms.
• The feeling of FOMO is most acute for millennials, with more than two thirds (67 per cent) reporting feeling like they were missing out as a result of social media; almost twice as much as the general population (40 per cent).
• Sydneysiders suffer FOMO at the hands of their social media feeds (41 per cent) more than their Melburnian counterparts who were affected slightly less (37 per cent).

Australia played host to some of the world’s best events in 2015, to the envy of many who missed out. According to the research, Ed Sheeran was the international artist most Aussies wish they had seen in 2015 (28 per cent); The Australian Open was the sporting event most Aussies wish they had attended in 2015 (39 per cent); and nearly half of all Aussies wish they went to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (45 per cent).

2016 is the year of GOMO

In light of this, the data indicated Australians are fed up with missing out, with nearly two thirds (60 per cent) of Aussies surveyed saying that they intend to go to more concerts in 2016 and almost one-third (28 per cent) indicating they’ll spend at least $300.

Specifically, 47 per cent plan to attend more food and wine festivals, 40 per cent want to go to more sporting events and 37 per cent want to go to more cultural and arts festivals.

Live music continues to draw crowds, with home-grown classics popular with millennials

2015 saw a number of major international and local artists tour Australia, and the FOMO came with them.

• While Ed Sheeran drove the most FOMO (28 per cent), Taylor Swift wasn’t far behind, with one in five (21 per cent) of Aussies wishing they would have seen her live.
• Classic Aussie rock remains a solid favourite, with AC/DC being the Australian act most respondents wished they’d seen (31 per cent). Interestingly, more than one in four (27 per cent) millennials chose AC/DC ahead of the likes of Chet Faker and Tame Impala, proving the multi-generational appeal of the classic rock outfit.
• On the music festival side, Splendor in the Grass caused the most FOMO in 2015, with 27 per cent of Aussies wishing they had attended, closely followed by the Falls Festival at 22 per cent.
• Millennials are driving the live music industry with 60 per cent stating they plan to go to more live shows in 2016 than 2015.
• The industry is also seeing strong growth in Sydney with 60% of Sydneysiders planning to attend more concerts and 30% looking to attend more music festivals this year.

Melbourne is the FOMO-inducing capital, hosting the most coveted major events

Reigniting the longstanding Sydney versus Melbourne battle, the study revealed some interesting insights between the two cities:

• Melbourne had the last laugh, with nearly half of all Aussies reported they wish they had attended the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (45 per cent) in 2015, followed by Melbourne Food & Wine Festival (42 per cent).
• In Sydney, the most FOMO-driving major event was Vivid Sydney, with 37 per cent wishing they had attended.
• One in four (25 per cent) Sydneysiders indicated they would travel to Melbourne-based events including Rainbow Serpent, F1 Grand Prix and the A-League Grand Final.
• Two in five Aussies (40 per cent) wish they had attended The Australian Open in 2015, with 20 per cent of Sydneysiders also admitting they wanted to attend the Melbourne Cup.

Eventbrite’s full study ‘GOMO is the new FOMO’ will be available online in the coming weeks.