Circana data indicates spending on beer and cider in shops fell by 5.2% during the week of England’s opening match against Croatia compared with the same week last year, equivalent to a £9.3m drop. However drinks sales surged the following week as England’s second match coincided with record-high June temperatures.

Shoppers spent 23.1% more on beer and cider year-on-year during the week England played out a draw against Ghana and temperatures reached as high as 37.7°C in some parts of the country, a higher spend equivalent to a £36.8m increase. Spending on carbonated soft drinks also rose 25.3%, equivalent to £28.3m, compared to the same week in 2025.

Sales of crisps, snacks and nuts have seen a smaller but steadier increase, rising by 5.6% year on year in the week England played Croatia, equivalent to £7m more than the same week last year, and 4.2% in the week of the Ghana game, equivalent to £5m more.

Alex Lawrence, senior strategic insight director for UK CPG at Circana, said: “The early signs are that football alone is not enough to drive up retail sales, with cost-conscious shoppers holding back on the beers and spending only a little more on crisps and snacks as they settled down to watch England’s first game of the tournament.

“There was a big rise in drinks sales in the week of England’s second game, but this was more likely to have been driven by the record-high temperatures that week. The modest rise in crisps and snacks spending is probably a better guide to the football effect on grocery sales.

“Another rise in drinks sales is very likely this weekend as the hot weather joins forces with a Saturday night quarter-final to give retailers what could be their biggest spending increase since the tournament began four weeks ago.”

Seton Leung, head of UK foodservice at Circana, added: “Pub visits are down by around 4% year on year, so operators will be hoping the combination of hot weather and England’s quarter-final game will be enough to tempt people out this weekend.

“There were around six million extra pub and bar visits during June and July 2024 as England progressed through the Euros so operators will be keeping their fingers crossed that they play well enough on Saturday night to make it to Wednesday evening’s semi-final.”

About Circana

Circana is a leader in providing technology, AI, and data to fast-moving consumer packaged goods companies, durables manufacturers, and retailers seeking to optimise their businesses. Circana’s predictive analytics and technology empower clients to measure their market share, understand the underlying consumer behavior driving it, and accelerate their growth. Circana’s Liquid Data® technology platform is powered by an expansive, high-quality data set, and intelligent algorithms trained on six decades of domain expertise. With Circana, clients can take immediate action to future-proof and evolve their growth strategies amid an increasingly complex, fast-paced, and ever-changing economy.