Digitalized sports products and various generations in the era of industry 4.0

Abstract

In modern times of Industry 4.0, digital solutions are used in an increasing number of branches of the economy, and this also applies to sports. Generational cohorts provide a way to understand how different life experiences affect people’s views of the world. There is a new growing group of sports fans—modern fans—who have been functioning in the digital world since birth, and therefore have their specific behavioral patterns, habits, and expectations. For this reason the sports industry must adapt properly to continue to develop. This article aims to identify how consumers representing various generations on the Polish market consume sports products provided by digitized channels. The study focused on three areas: the source of information about the sport, devices on which consumers watch sports and the evaluation of the attractiveness of sports products (full games, game highlights and behind the scenes). The study was conducted in the form of an online survey in 2021, and 581 Polish volleyball fans took part in it. The results indicate that younger generations are more likely to get sports information from social media and less likely to watch games on TV than older generations.