Data from retail software company Vend has found that Manchester’s independent retail sales increased by a huge 61% on the days that England played during the Football World Cup tournament, compared to the same days the previous month. This compared to a national rise of 6% per England match. This was despite average retail sales across the duration of the tournament sitting 11% lower than the previous month.
And clearly many football fan’s enthusiasm waned once the mighty Three Lions were knocked out. Sales dropped off slightly following England’s exit from the World Cup on the 11th July, with retail sales declining by 4% for the days following England’s exit and in the lead-up to the final. And, spending on the day of the final between France and Croatia was 34% down compared to the average spend across England’s game-days throughout the tournament.
“There’s not doubt that people hit the streets and bars in droves over the past month. And it’s great to see how England’s games boosted retail sales as supporters celebrated – particularly as these fell on the weekdays that are usually a bit slower for retailers such as Mondays and Tuesdays. But the days in-between didn’t see sales at their usual levels. Perhaps because people were taking some down-time and saving their bank balances for the next big game,” says Higor Torchia, Country Manager for Vend in EMEA.
The stores that did the best out of England’s game days were fashion and apparel retailers which saw a 24% increase on game days compared to the same days the previous month, and food and drink retailers which saw a 7% increase.
And it seems Manchester fans were the biggest spenders on game day, with average retail sales increasing by 61% when England played, compared to the national average, while London sales were up 14% and Edinburgh up 8% compared to other cities. Elsewhere sales were much lower than the national average on game-day, perhaps as people chose to celebrate at home and spent less time on the high street.
