£431m sales boost expected if England makes #WorldCup2014 final

04-Jun-2014 - Last updated on 05-Jun-2014 at 09:15 GMT

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Consumers are expected to spend £431m in pubs, cafes and clubs if England plays in the World Cup final

Consumers are expected to spend £431m in pubs, cafes and clubs if England plays in the World Cup final, according to research by VoucherCodes.co.uk.

The online promotion provider estimated that each goal scored by the English team could be worth a total of £33.2m for the leisure industry, defined as pubs, cafes and clubs.

With only 5,000 fans flying to Brazil (half the number that went to South Africa for the 2010 tournament), over 23m people are expected to spend money on the World Cup within the UK. Fans will spend £175m in pubs, bars and cafes just in the first stages of the competition.

However, retailers will get the bulk of spending, with grocery and supermarket accounting for £508m, including £280m of drinks, if England gets to the second round.

The 2014 World Cup is expected to generate almost £1.3bn in sales for UK retailers, pubs and restaurants - if England play in the second round. And if the English team makes the final, this number could go up to £2.58bn, with £198.5m spent across the entire retail and leisure industry for each national goal.

Claire Davenport, managing director, VoucherCodes.co.uk said: “The World Cup is going to be the biggest retail event in 2014, providing an expected £1.3bn boost for UK retailers, pubs and clubs. With 23 million fans expected to celebrate England’s successes by heading to the pub, upgrading to the latest TV, or buying England memorabilia, the leisure industry should think ahead and help fans by providing tailored World Cup deals and discounts.

“Since the last World Cup, we’ve seen the UK come out of recession, unemployment drop month-on-month this year and estimates the GDP will grow by 3.1 per cent in 2014. This, coupled with consumer confidence at its highest peak since September 2007, has impacted on the feel-good factor of England’s fans this summer – which can only be good news for our pubs and restaurants.”

The report, commissioned by VoucherCodes.co.uk and conducted by the Centre for Retail Research, used on analysis of the 2010 World Cup tournaments, interviews with 605 shoppers and 40 UK retailers responsible for 18 per cent of UK annual retail sales.

Preparation

In order to prepare for the rush in activity expected during the World Cup, hospitality professionals can focus on various areas of staff training.

E-learning provider abv Training has made a list of critical aspects to brush up on in the run-up to the event, including:

Age verification: Underage drinkers might try to get past the law while World Cup spirits run high.
Conflict management: Packed pubs and over-worked bar staff might lead to altercations.
Food safety: With vast quantities of alcohol consumed and up to three matches a day demand for bar and restaurant food will be high.

Frazer Grant, CEO at abv Training, said: “June is going to be an incredibly busy time for the hospitality industry while the World Cup is played out and we believe that e-learning is a great option for those businesses which need to get employees quickly trained up so they can meet the challenges they will face this month.”

Check out BigHospitality's round-up of restaurant and pub initiatives for the World Cup.