The NFL has estimated that 85 percent of fans do not live in the same city as their favorite team. Team loyalties are often set in the early years and our mobile society takes many people away from their hometown. The current trade mania created by the modern sports owner and the leagues salary cap rules often move a favorite player away from the local team. With most local retailers cutting back on their assortments of licensed products, only home team items are usually available, often in limited supply. The displaced, but loyal fan has nowhere else to turn but the Internet.
American consumers are well disposed to shopping online.
More than 60 percent of households have personal computers. More than half of the households connected to the Internet have made a purchase online. More and more Americans complain that they do not have enough time to complete the most mundane of household duties, let alone shop. E-commerce helps alleviate that problem. Impulse purchases are definitely not the order of the day.