UEFA Euros spending: Retailers set for £2.1bn boost during tournament
Retailers and hospitality venues are set to make £2.75bn during the Men’s UEFA Euro 2024 campaign, kicking off on 14 Friday June – a new report reveals.
The Men’s UEFA Euro 2024 Spending Report by VoucherCodes.co.uk, the UK’s most trusted savings site, reveals that 35.4m supporters are expected to tune into tournament at home, bars, pubs, and restaurants.
Of the total viewers, 30.7m consumers will be watching at least one match from the comfort of their own home. UK retailers can expect to welcome 23.6m shoppers through their doors, resulting in sales of £2.1bn. This marks a £0.5bn, or 31% increase on the 2022 World Cup. Spending on food and drink for celebrations is expected to account for £1.4bn of total sales, with many fans opting to watch at least one match at home, or at someone else’s home.
As fans look to make the most of the favourable kick-off times and summer weather, retailers can expect 4.2m people to spend a whopping £70.8m on garden cooking products such as pizza ovens, BBQs, and BBQ accessories and utensils.
In preparation for the games, retailers are also expected to make £288.6m on electricals, such as TV’s, £238.1m on sportswear, and £96.2m on merchandise.
As the stage with the most matches, retail spend is set to peak during the Group Stages (14 – 26 June , with fans set to spend £1.14bn.
Total Men’s UEFA Euro 2024 predicted retail spend by tournament stage
| Retail spend (£m) | Group Stage | Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final |
| Food & Drink | 693.7 | 176.5 | 202.3 | 259.5 | 37.1 |
| Electricals | 200.2 | 57.1 | 12.2 | 16.3 | 2.8 |
| Sportswear | 141.9 | 21.1 | 35.3 | 39.6 | 0.2 |
| Merch | 47.3 | 11.5 | 22.1 | 13.3 | 2.1 |
| Garden Cooking (e.g., BBQs, BBQ accessories, pizza ovens) | 32.5 | 11.4 | 11.9 | 12.1 | 2.9 |
| Decorations | 9.6 | 5.7 | 10.8 | 8.2 | 3.3 |
| Garden Furniture (e.g., outdoor chairs, outdoor tables) | 18.0 | 7.7 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 1.2 |
| Other home-related items (e.g., indoor chairs, indoor sofas) | 1.4 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
| TOTAL | 1,144.6 | 293.5 | 299.3 | 352.7 | 49.8 |
As the tournament is held in Germany with plenty of favourable kick off times, 14.4m fans will head to hospitality venues such as their local pub, bar, or restaurant to watch at least one game during the competition. This is a 115% increase from the men’s last major international tournament, the 2022 World Cup, which saw hospitality venues welcome just 6.7m people.
High expectations for the Three Lions coupled with the tournament being held in the warmer summer months means that the hospitality sector is set to see sales of £613.7m from 12.9m spenders, as fans look to increase spending on entertainment and enjoyment. That’s a £172m, or 39% increase on the 2022 World Cup.
Breaking this down further, UK hospitality venues are predicted to make £217.3m from food sales and £396.5m from drinks sales, equating to the sale of 110.3m pints of beer and cider, 36.1m glasses of wine, and 10.9m Aperol Spritz’.
Total predicted hospitality spend for Men’s UEFA Euro 2024 by tournament stage
| Hospitality spend (£m) | Group stage | Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Semi-Finals | Final |
| Food | 83.2 | 31.4 | 39.8 | 60.6 | 2.3 |
| Drink | 187.0 | 61.9 | 60.7 | 78.1 | 8.7 |
| TOTAL | 270.2 | 93.4 | 100.5 | 138.7 | 11.0 |
The Group Stages will provide hospitality venues with the greatest boost in sales, with spending predicted to reach £270.2m as 10m supporters head to their local to watch the games.
Michael Brandy, senior commercial director at VoucherCodes.co.uk commented: “With many fans opting to watch the games at home or someone else’s home, retailers can expect a busy period in the run up to and during the tournament as fans look to stock up their kitchens with watch party essentials this summer.
“As many try to enjoy the sunny weather, we’ll expect to see a significant rise in summer BBQs resulting in a spike in sales for garden cooking products and garden furniture, with fans bringing their usual garden spending forward ready for the tournament.”
