As the Qatar Fifa World Cup 2022 is nearing, with the opening match kicking off on November 20, retailers across the GCC are eager to cash in and entice more customers from around the globe who are flocking to the country for the world’s largest sporting event.
Euromonitor and Google conducted a study featuring 1,500 leisure travellers and football fans from 13 countries, including the UK, the US, Brazil and China, to help retailers derive double benefits from the two money-spinning events- the Fifa World Cup and Black Friday sales.
This year’s Fifa World Cup, running in November and December, is coinciding with various end-of-year shopping moments such as Cyber Monday, American Thanksgiving, and Christmas, presenting retailers with multiple simultaneous opportunities.
The report shows that 83 per cent of respondents would be interested in taking advantage of shopping sales during the Black Friday season during their stay in Qatar. In fact, eighty-six per cent are researching before shopping, while 59 per cent are resorting to search engines to do so.
Regarding their preferred shopping methods, 55 per cent of those surveyed reported they plan to shop online or alternate between online and in-store shopping. As for what potential customers are after, seventy-seven per cent are keen on purchasing fashion products, 64 per cent will focus on beauty and health, while 54 per cent will laser-focus on small consumer electronics.
With global consumers delving into prospective purchases well in advance of their arrival to Qatar, marketers have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to connect with a massive audience.
Customers have flexible budget
The study suggests that the average global leisure traveller’s budget is $3,500. More to the point, leisure travellers from the Asia-Pacific region tend to spend around $4,300, North Americans $3,900 and Middle Easterners $3,400. Yet, the results suggest that consumers are likely to shop outside of their budget.
This is a lucrative opportunity for retailers who may have missed out on connecting with consumers during the planning phase. However, they are still on track to beguile shoppers in-country by offering add-on purchases and last-minute deals.
