Headline figures of £300m as the cost to the economy of England’s early exit from the World Cup need a health warning attached. Expenditure may dip in the short run, but the money may well be spent later, but on different things.
Headline figures of £300m as the cost to the economy of England’s early exit from the World Cup need a health warning attached. Expenditure may dip in the short run, but the money may well be spent later, but on different things.
In the past World Cups have seen a 0.7 per cent rise in retail sales in May and a 1 per cent fall in June. However, the pre-tournament surge and post-tournament slump appear to have weakened over time. This may be because of a greater realism about England’s prospects. The growth of online shopping may dampen the impact, while the timing of the matches in the evenings means there is less direct competition with high street shopping.
Sporting equipment and clothes saw a 28.9 per cent rise in sales in May. John Lewis reported a 47 per cent year-on-year rise in television sales. Barbecue meat sales almost doubled and sales of prepacked salads were up by a third, although this may in part reflect the warm weather. Daily beer consumption for the few days that England were World Cup contenders rose by fifty per cent. Pizza home deliveries were expecting a big boost if England had stayed in the tournament.
Sectors of the economy that might expect a boost including gardening centres, DIY stores, cinemas and holiday firms.