Between 2012 and 2023, Netflix subscribers and Spam canned meat sales both grew, correlating at 0.9647 across twelve data points. The theory that binge-watching requires shelf-stable protein is more plausible than most correlations on this website—one can easily imagine a person who does not want to pause their show to cook reaching for the nearest can of processed pork. The pandemic, which boosted both Netflix subscriptions and canned meat stockpiling simultaneously, makes this correlation feel almost causal in 2020, even though it is not. Spam has outlasted every prediction of its irrelevance, much like Netflix has outlasted every prediction of its market saturation.
Netflix grew from 25 million to over 230 million worldwide subscribers, driven by original content and international expansion. Spam sales grew as the brand experienced a cultural revival driven by Asian-American cuisine, TikTok recipes, pandemic stockpiling, and nostalgia marketing, with Hormel reporting record sales in multiple years. Both are consumer brands that grew through the 2010s and received pandemic-era boosts in 2020, though for entirely different reasons.
Two consumer brands that both benefited from the pandemic and the 2010s growth economy will correlate across a shared window. The correlation captures a shared era of consumer expansion, not a dietary preference linked to screen time.
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Want to learn more about why correlations like “Netflix subscribers worldwide” vs “Spam canned meat sales” don't prove causation? Read our guide to statistical thinking.
