• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, February 1, 2016

The National Retail Federation predicts 189 million Americans will tune in to Super Bowl 50, and that they plan to spend more to enjoy the Big Game — about $82 per celebrant. That’s the highest in survey history. Total spending for the event, with the Denver Broncos taking on the Carolina Panthers, is expected to top $15.5 billion.

Last year at this time, 183.7 million said they planned to watch the New England Patriots battle the Seattle Seahawks. (Nielsen put total viewership for the game, which the Patriots won in a late-game stunner, at 168 million.) And 2015 spending was $77.88 per person.

In addition to providing a big boost to food, beverage and football jersey sales, the event is a big deal for bars and restaurants.

The Washington D.C.-based trade association says 34.7% of respondents say the game is main attraction, while 17.7% say it's the commercials, like this one for Axe, are. (If you’re one of them, check out MediaPost’s Out To Launch daily Super Bowl updates.) And nearly eight in 10 say they watch the ads. A much smaller percentage — 4.5% — are just in it for the food.

And parties are popular, with about 18% planning to host a game party, and 28.6% likely to attend. But even those who aren't socializing do plenty of shopping — some 79.8% of all who plan to view the game will buy some kind of food to celebrate. And 7.7% have plans to buy a new TV for the event.

Younger viewers are far more likely to be at a party, with 47.9% of 18- to-24-year-olds planning to do so. They’re also most likely to care about the halftime show, which this year features Coldplay, with 13% of that group saying it’s the most important aspect of the game.

The survey, conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, is based on responses from 7,300 adults.