Behind the scenes

World Cup in winter – Swiss shoppers just want Panini stickers

17.11.2022

Translation: Veronica Bielawski

It’s rare to have a sports event be as polarising as the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which begins on 20 November 2022. In spite of this – or precisely because of it – we took a closer look at consumer behaviour in our shops in the run-up to the World Cup. The results are in. Hardly anyone’s setting up a home cinema for the World Cup, and jerseys are also proving to be slow sellers. Panini stickers, on the other hand, are selling like crazy.

The countdown is on! Only three more days until the World Cup in Qatar begins. This is typically when die-hard football fans – and even those who only tune in for the World Cup – equip themselves for watching the game. This includes everything you could need for a watching party, from goalie gloves to jerseys and projectors to screens.

But Qatar 2022 is different from previous World Cups. Even before its start, this World Cup has caused numerous negative headlines, including allegations of corruption in the awarding of contracts, the deaths of thousands of guest workers during the construction of infrastructure, discrimination against the LGBT community ... the list goes on. On top of that, it’s not taking place in summer as usual, but in winter.

I wanted to know if this has dampened our customers’ excitement or left them cold. To figure this out, I compared consumer sentiment at two different points in time – in May 2018 and October 2022, in each case shortly before the start of the World Cup (in 2018, it was in Russia; in 2022, it’s in Qatar). Spoiler: elation around the World Cup in Qatar isn’t quite so great.

Conserving electricity over public screenings

First things first, let’s have a look at the equipment you need for an optimal home or public screening experience. For some customers, the World Cup is a welcome excuse to upgrade their ageing TV to a newer model, or to get a projector and screen to take the viewing experience to the next level.

In May 2018, just before the World Cup in Russia, Digitec Galaxus sold 27% more TVs, 41% more projectors and 69% more screens than in the same month the previous year. In October 2022, shortly before the World Cup in Qatar, sales growth is significantly lower compared to October 2021.

When interpreting the numbers, it is, however, important to keep the following in mind: inflation and the energy crisis have certainly left their mark on people’s wallets. Although consumer electronics products at Digitec Galaxus are defying inflation. projectors, TVs and the like are on average 2.3% cheaper than last year. Another reason for the comparatively low sales figures is probably the scarcity of public screenings. The big-league sponsors decided to stay away; the risk of damage to the company’s image was too great. Not to mention the steep heating costs.

Too cold to play football

Back to fan merchandise. In times of inflation, low-priced products may be better indicators of consumers’ partiality to or disenchantment with the World Cup. They paint a similar picture. The motivation to kick around a football in the backyard or organise a neighbourhood tournament is moderate. Footballs, shin guards, goalposts and goalkeeper gloves were much more in demand right before the 2018 World Cup. A justified objection to raise is that this year, the World Cup is taking place in winter, so the idea of kicking around a ball outside doesn’t sound quite so inviting.

Football jerseys are always a good measure of mood, and weren’t quite as popular this year; compared to October 2021, these were 6% less in demand. In contrast, May 2018, shortly before the World Cup in Russia, we recorded a 168% year-on-year increase in sales of jerseys.

Experience has taught us that this lacking motivation to buy football shirts can still change – especially if the Swiss national team plays well. In Russia, we made it to the round of 16, which resulted in a 770% increase in jersey sales in June 2018.

Panini is the magic word

In a nutshell, even if projectors, footballs and shirts are less in demand than at the last World Cup, Panini stickers show a reversed trend. In the run-up to the World Cup in Qatar, the collectors among you have hit hard. These popular stickers made their way into your virtual shopping cart three times more often than during the World Cup in Russia. That’s certainly a sign of excitement. Let’s wait and see how the football fervour of the nation develops in the coming weeks.

Are you a football fan, or could you not care less about the World Cup? Which team are you rooting for? Do you collect Panini stickers? Let us know in the comments!

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Stephan Kurmann

Senior Communications Manager

Stephan.Kurmann@digitecgalaxus.ch

Studies claim that we have a shorter attention span than goldfish. Ouch! My job is to get your attention as often and for as long as possible. How? With content you enjoy. Outside of the office, you’ll find me on the tennis court, curled up with a book, Netflixing or travelling.

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