World Cup 2010: What it Means for the Retail Sector

 

World Cup 2010: What it Means for the Retail Sector

Experian report provides insight into the effects of the World Cup on the retail sector
London, 10 June 2010: With the World Cup 2010 just a day away, Experian, the global information services company, is today predicting which aspects of the World Cup will influence the retail sector.

 The report All to play for: Expert insight for World Cup 2010  highlights that for the retail sector the World Cup could be a mixed blessing. A successful England campaign may keep people in front of their TVs, rather than out on the high street or in the shopping centres, but by the same token the national euphoria may well have a positive impact on consumer spending.

Jim Hodgkins, Managing Director of Experian Marketing Services, said:  “This is going to be one of the most heavily advertised World Cup tournaments to date.  Retail brands are going multi-channel to get as much targeted TV, radio, print and digital exposure as possible and have invested millions in their World Cup campaigns.”

“If brands fail to get their tactics right, it could be the proverbial ‘game of two halves’. The big winners will be those who capture the nation’s imagination, combining humour and patriotism with fantastic offers to create memorable, personal and relevant campaigns.  The losers will be those who score an own goal because they haven’t thought about who they are trying to reach. In marketing terms they won’t even make it past Group stages.”

According to Experian’s experts, this year the retail parks will be a ‘big player’ in the increase in footfall as football fans gear up to enjoy the matches, with the purchase of plasma TVs and other electrical luxuries as well as, weather permitting, BBQs on the terraces. This trend was seen during the last World Cup and will be boosted by the fact that matches in South Africa are generally taking place in the evening for this tournament.

The report also explains that when looking back to the Olympics, the success of the British team in Beijing had an extremely positive effect on a number of online retailers. Retailers selling products that have close affinity with the events on the pitch in South Africa are likely to do particularly well.

Other key trends likely to influence the outcome for the retail sector during the tournament, include:

Consumer types: World Cup 2010
Drilling down to look at specific consumer types’ interest in the World Cup underlines the dominance of those living in the suburbs around industrial cities and small towns. Analysis conducted by Experian Marketing Services using its Mosaic classification shows that “Production Managers” sit at the top of the table when it comes to following the World Cup.  These are people of a mix of ages, some of whom are approaching retirement, who live in quiet streets of semi-detached, often inter war housing, typically in the established but more pleasant suburbs of large industrial cities for many years. They’re not particularly career-driven or aspirational and the World Cup will be a major focus for them over the next three weeks.

Top three World Cup fans by household type

 

Household type

Lives

Shops

Works

1.     “Production Managers”

 

Birmingham, Manchester and  Liverpool

Sainsbury’s, M&S Simply Food, and John Lewis

Manufacturing industries (aerospace  and automotive), civil service or public sector

2.     “Lower Middle Class Families”

Sheffield, Liverpool and Chester

Asda, Morrisons or Tesco

Sales, skilled manual work in local industries, public sector

3.     “Jacks of All Trades” White Van Man

Peterborough, Lincoln and Leeds

Budgens, Co-op, Londis

Trades, self-employed or for large industrial employers


Leisure industry
Making a social occasion out of major sporting events has become a national pastime in recent years, and World Cup 2010 presents another opportunity for football fans to get together with friends and family over a drink or two. Whether at home or in a local bar or restaurant, young professionals living in inner cities with an abundance of local pubs and watering holes will use the World Cup as a social occasion. Experian’s Mosaic analysis indicates that the top ten places for World Cup drinking in and outside of London are as follows:

In London

Towns and cities outside London

1.    Wandsworth - Clapham Junction

1.    Glasgow

2.    Putney

2.    Brighton

3.    Hammersmith

3.    Leeds

4.    Chiswick

4.    Edinburgh

5.    Queensway

5.    Sheffield

6.    London West End

6.    Manchester

7.    Tooting

7.    Cardiff

8.    Wood Green

8.    Liverpool

9.   

Liverpool Street& Bishopsgate

9.    Milton Keynes

10.  Richmond (London)

10.  Bristol



The online effects
UK Internet penetration has increased massively since the last World Cup in 2006, but so too have the ways in which people use the Internet. The two biggest changes have been the growth of social networks and the popularity of multimedia, particularly video, content. Together these two categories now account for nearly a quarter of all UK Internet visits and over a third of all page views.

The social media space will be one of the key places where people talk about the World Cup. Posting clips of fantastic goals, arguing about refereeing decisions, complaining about the injustices of penalty shoot outs – all of this and a whole lot more will be taking place on social networks, blogs, fan sites, Twitter, YouTube and the comment sections of news and media sites up and down the land. All of these sites will see spikes in traffic whatever happens, and the comment will continue long after the tournament is over.

Both ITV and the BBC will see even higher traffic levels to their video streaming services, with much of this traffic from video content embedded into news pages. But it will not only be the broadcasters taking advantage of online video. Advertisers and other content providers will also embed video and other multimedia content in their sites, helping them to increase engagement and conversion rates.

There is also likely to be an increase in traffic to Sport and Fitness retail websites as World Cup fever takes hold. According to analysis by Experian Hitwise, Internet traffic is up 25% in the last 12 weeks and 18% year-on-year. Top websites in this category are Sportsdirect.com and MandMDirect.

Visits to these sites are led by what Experian’s Mosaic classification refers to as “Suburban Mindsets” (maturing families on mid-range incomes) and “Small Town Diversity” (residents of small and medium sized towns who have strong roots in their local community).

 

 

 

 

-Ends-

Contact:
Stephanie Dobson
Experian Public Relations
0115 9922515
stephanie.dobson@uk.experian.com


Notes to editors

About Experian
Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients in more than 90 countries. The company helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to check their credit report and credit score, and protect against identity theft.

Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended 31 March 2010 was $3.9 billion. Experian employs approximately 15,000 people in 40 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; Costa Mesa, California; and São Paulo, Brazil. 

For more information, visit http://www.experianplc.com.


About Mosaic

Experian’s consumer classification Mosaic UK 2009 draws on over 440 separate pieces of compliant public and proprietary sourced information for each of the UK’s 48 million adults – a total of 21 billion individual data items to create a high definition picture of modern British society.  The classification now incorporates 15 lifestyle groups, 67 lifestyle types and 141 person types, updated every six months.

Mosaic Methodology
Experian’s data was compiled using TGI survey data (Target Group Index) a continuous survey of consumer product usage, lifestyle, media exposure and attitudes across Great Britain and based on questions covering the aspects of behaviour that would make people most likely to be a fan of the world cup and to drink alcohol whilst enjoying the game.  These data respondents were then matched to their appropriate Mosaic type, enabling Experian to profile the groups and types most likely to engage in watching the World Cup and drinking whilst watching the game.  Using these profiles Experian can locate the highest areas of penetration of these people in the UK.

Mosaic types referenced
Production Managers – those living in quiet streets of semi-detached housing, typically in the established but more pleasant suburbs of large industrial cities. Comprise older couples and some married couples with children of school years. These are very often the homes of white-collar and technical workers.

Lower Middle Class Families - lower middle class families, often with older children still at home, living in early inter war semi-detached houses, mostly in large provincial cities. Many work for local manufacturing companies in junior management and supervisory roles. Many wives also work to supplement household incomes.

Jacks of All Trades - live in neighbourhoods of older owner-occupied housing, often in small towns. They are typically responsible skilled manual workers many of whom are self-employed and who gain satisfaction as well as an income from providing various technical services to local residents. Neighbourhoods are not the old, inner cores of small towns but very often the unpretentious areas of semi-detached housing that separate them from the more recent outer estates of private housing.
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