The Group Stage of the 2026 World Cup tournament is forecast to generate incremental sales of £1.63bn for the retail and hospitality sectors, according to a new report.
The 2026 World Cup Spending Report by leading savings site, VoucherCodes.co.uk, predicts the retail sector will see an additional £1249.8m from Group Stage games, while the hospitality industry can look forward to a £375.5m boost.
With all of England and Scotland’s Group Stage games taking place in the late hours of the evening (between 9pm and 2am), retail will outperform hospitality as 96% of all fans tune into matches from home – that’s 17.7m people.
Driven by late kick-off times and tight budgets, fans are opting for at-home watch parties, spending £877m on food and drink at retail stores. Other categories, including electricals (£143.2m), sportswear (£109.2m), garden items (£55.8m), merch (£49.1m) and decorations (£14.5m) will all see an uplift in sales over the Group Stage too.
While hospitality sales are set to be more modest, over two-fifths of World Cup viewers (44%) will visit a local venue at least once during the Group Stage, equating to 7.7m people. The bulk of spend will come from drink sales (£198.6m), with a further £176.9m going on food.
Moji Oshisanya, chief commercial officer at VoucherCodes.co.uk, adds: “Both retailers and hospitality venues can look forward to significant sales boost as the World Cup kicks off. While the Group Stage is set to be the most lucrative due to the sheer number of matches played (72 in total!), spend averages just £22.6m per match. This is heavily skewed towards England and Scotland matches which will benefit from a surge in home-nation support.
“The tournament might be just around the corner, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late for brands to take advantage of consumer excitement. Stretched budgets means football fans are actively seeking
