With the World Cup moving to December, the illustrious fourth quarter of retail is set for quite the shake up, seeing shoppers dashing around stores for supplies for both the sporting event and the holidays. But how can retailers and brands prepare for this to ensure they are ready come December?
Dee Set’s own Greg Phillips and James Lamplugh offered their insights to industry leading title The Grocer, on how retailers are set to deal with the pressures of the World Cup being held over the Christmas period.
What Is The Challenge Retailers and Brands Are Facing?
Retailers are facing two of the biggest events in the calendar colliding. The World Cup and Christmas will see retailers throw out all the stops with promotional offers, decorative displays and seasonal lines. But how will stores have space for both in the same timeframe?
This one-off dynamic will require retailers and brands to be well-planned and creative as the movement of the Fifa World Cup to the fourth quarter provides plenty of hurdles to jump over in terms of marketing, budget and even store-space.
Blending the two major events is set to be a challenge, but could also be a great opportunity for retailers and brands that do manage to get it right.
How Can Retailers and Brands Make The Most Of It?
Retailers and brands will find themselves having to come up with a cohesive and imaginative approach to accommodate both calendar events. James suggested ‘Footy-mad Santa, elves freestyling football tricks, and the 12 days of Cristiano’!
One thing is for sure, retailers and brands will have to start planning early, ensuring that their programmes of activity for Q4 are clearly laid out and ready to take shape. Those that find themselves behind the curve when it comes to strategising are set to miss out on what is due to be a very interesting period for shoppers.
Increased footfall and demand as consumers have Christmas infused football viewing parties are sure to give retailers and brands ample opportunity to put their best foot forward.
Sponsorship Spots
Brands should be warned, competition for sponsorship spots is set to be fierce. Much to the disappointment of entertaining snack brands like sweets, chocolate and crisps, the new HFSS laws are set to land in October preventing them from taking an upfront position, leaving them in defense. Based on this, it is most likely that retailers will see alcohol taking the spot of striker.
This will be music to booze brands ears as they may have otherwise taken a hit as beer gardens aren’t likely to be full of football fans watching the final in blustery December.
But What About Summer?
The absence of the Fifa World Cup in the summer months leaves a big space in the retail landscape for other events to take the main stage. We may see retailers hoping for warm weather to focus on family BBQs now Covid restrictions are lifted for a summer together, or even other sporting events like Wimbledon getting a bigger focus than they normally would.
To read Greg’s interview in full check out the Grocer article here: Fifa