How the World Cup Will Effect Spending on Black Friday

If you don’t know already, the World Cup is going to kick off between November 21st and December 18th, finishing the week before Christmas! For the first time in history, this event overlaps with Black Friday sales as it’s never been held outside of summer before. This means eCommerce retailers are in uncharted territory.

We’re going to show you how identifying your customer’s spending patterns will help you increase your eCommerce sales over this period.

Spending Habits

It’s a given that consumers will make use of Black Friday sales (who wouldn’t want to take advantage of huge price reductions whilst hurtling towards a recession, ey?). Instead of masks and hand sanitisers like the last few years, it will be England flags and beers with a few Christmas crackers on the side! 

With no further lockdowns in sight, online sales dropped significantly once stores reopened, right? Wrong. Figures from Salescycle show eCommerce sales have been increasing excessively since 2013, with the peak occurring in 2020 due to Covid. Online sales have decreased slightly since 2021, but not substantially (difference of $0.1bn ) as it is unlikely that we will see much of a difference this year since consumers have become more accustomed to shopping online since the lockdown.

A report by the NY Post shows that tech items such as AirPods, fashion items, and most of all home and furniture items were the most popular selling items during Black Friday in 2021. This could be due to the fact that everyone is spending more time outside and taking care of their homes. If lockdown has taught us anything, it is to cherish and look after the space we live in.

Consumer Behaviour & Specific Niches

Since the retail market is extremely competitive, it is essential to ensure your eCommerce store stands out, especially during the purchasing stage.

Using the World Cup as an opportunity to promote or incorporate your business could be a big boost to your traffic. Football-related promotion codes, adverts and email subject lines may be your ticket to lure fans into making purchasing decisions and increasing your bounce rate. 

Food – You can’t deny consumers the satisfaction of snacking during halftime, since watching the game at home during work hours will definitely result in more food consumption. So if you have an eCommerce store that sells food or groceries, be sure to use the World Cup as a way of bringing some extra customers your way.

Tech – As it is Black Friday and Cyber Monday, tech eCommerce sites should take full use of the fact that they can lure in more potential loyal customers via promotions for stock.

Matt Newman, category director for consumer electronics at Currys, reveals TVs will be the retailer’s key category focus for the World Cup. This makes perfect sense since every football fanatic will be glued to their TV screens during that time and a lot of people will want to upgrade.

Gifts –  According to GQ, people love an early Christmas sale and consumers will certainly be searching for bargains online, so why not take advantage of this as Nike, Amazon and Selfridges are dropping their prices and promoting early Christmas shops on their eCommerce sites? You can follow these big retailers and do the same to achieve the same results.

Delivery

One thing is for certain, no one likes to pay for delivery.

Offering your customers free shipping or delivery when they spend over a certain amount on your eCommerce site could work wonders for you. Especially if you have already implemented the World Cup, Black Friday or Christmas product sales. 

Marketing 

Reaching your target audience is also crucial for growth, therefore advertising to them before, during half-time or after matches is a great way to introduce your storefront to a wider audience.

Football-related promotion codes, adverts and email subject lines may be the ticket to lure fans into making purchases in advance of settling down to watch the match. Another way to keep customer loyalty is to use social media to keep them informed on any football-related offers (for example, if England reaches the semi-finals, you’ll offer free shipping). Furthermore, creating a campaign that incorporates the World Cup, Christmas or even better, a combination of both, is a great way to attract your audience and keep your current consumers hooked to your content.

With so much in demand during the peak shopping season, it could get a little “Messi” for your eCommerce site. In order to serve your consumers effectively, you must be equipped to monitor and choose the right stock.

If you are a retail eCommerce store, why not base your next marketing campaign on the World Cup and use it to market your eCommerce store? Consider the points above and integrate them into your site. Now is the time to take action. 

Best of luck meeting your Black Friday GOALLSSS!