World cup figures mean indies set to cash in

Here they come. With just over two months to go until the World Cup kicks off, the economists have already started having their say about what the tournament could be worth to the country as a whole.

Hot on the heels of pre-tournament predictions about the 2008 European Championships and optimistic views of the 2012 Olympics (worth a potential £7billion alone, apparently), the British Retail Consortium estimates that the 2006 version of the tournament helped boost the economy by £1.25billion and expects this year’s model to generate a similar amount.

A recent survey by PriceWaterhouseCooper, reported in football magazine FourFourTwo, showed that 15 per cent of consumers intended to ‘buy more’ if England do manage the unthinkable and actually win the World Cup.

What ‘buying more’ actually entails remains to be seen. The article mentions celebrating in pubs and restaurants or treating themselves to new purchases, which one would imagine wouldn’t see much of a trickle-down effect into convenience stores.

What could provide that trickle-down effect is the sheer number of products tying their colours to the mast for this year’s tournament, and, perversely, big sponsorship deals by the major supermarket chains.

Tesco and Asda are both getting behind the tournament in a big way – Tesco as official supplier to the England team and Asda by launching a range of exclusive England merchandise – but the added hype of their inevitable TV and poster advertising campaigns could act as a seed in many consumers minds that may flower into a fully-grown tree when they pass a well-stocked, well-merchandised convenience store that is also getting behind the tournament in a big way.

With football-themed promotional tie-ins from companies as disparate as Gillette, Sure for Men, McCoys, Jaffa Cakes, Lucozade, Coca-Cola, Walkers and Chicago Town (among many, many others) creating a World Cup-themed display through every area of your store really couldn’t be easier.

During the World Cup in 2006, savoury snack sales grew by 34 per cent, sharing bag sales grew by up to 250 per cent before big matches and soft drinks – in particular colas – beer, lager and cider all saw huge rises. One industry figure quoted to me last week that the 2010 World Cup could be worth as many as one million extra soft drink can sales through convenience stores. This is a phenomenal figure.

With promotion posters on your windows and promotional displays in store, you really could be the winner in this year’s World Cup, despite huge marquee deals from the multiple stores. Go and get your slice of this magical £1billion – it’s a chance to score that you can’t afford to miss.