With the 2010 World Cup in South Africa drawing tens of thousands of spectators and
hundreds of millions of supporters worldwide it is interesting to take a look at the economic impact of the competition in other countries than the host. The British are set to spend the most during the month long event with an estimated 2 billion to being spent on everything from gambling to takeaways.
Comparing to figures from last year and factoring in economic growth, the huge increase is primarily down to the World Cup but can also be attributed to some of the other sporting events this summer. Research by MINTEL suggests that more than 60% of the UK population expects to increase their leisure spending over the 5 week period.
Despite the announcement of a rise in VAT, the figure represents almost a 6% increase on spending over the period of the competition. It's not just the high street either; plenty of people are watching the matches in pubs and bars, causing an increase in consumption of food and alcohol during off peak times. Many landlords claim that an important 3pm match can bring in the same amount of revenue as a busy Friday or Saturday night and with several matches per day this is generating substantial profit.
For the last year, prices have been heavily reduced and stores have been promoting television sets using the world cup as the main focus for the purchase. In the last year the average price of a high definition television has reduced by over 50% and many retailers are offering promotions like a full refund if England wins the World Cup or money off every time they score. DSG, the parent company that owns Dixons and Curry's announced a 63% increase in profit on this time last year, they attribute this solely to the increase in demand for large televisions.
Beer and snack food has been at the centre of a supermarket price war, dropping the price of beer as low as 43p per pint. Takeaways have also benefited from the world cup with many people ordering in during half time rather than wasting precious match minutes in the kitchen, Chinese, Indian and other ethnic takeaways have been popular but more sports fans are choosing food to share such as Pizzas.