Brazil Retail Sales Drop 17 Percent on World Cup Match Day

By Nelson Belen, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – According to just-released data, many Brazilian retailers may not have necessarily been upset to see Brazil exit the 2018 Russia World Cup. On Friday, July 6th, the day the Seleção were ousted from the Cup by Belgium, 2-1, total retail sales across the country fell seventeen percent when compared to a normal Friday.

The figures were published by Cielo, the largest Brazilian credit and debit card operator, in their Retail Sales Index report (Índice Cielo do Varejo Ampliado or ‘ICVA’). The ICVA studied more than twenty different Brazilian retail sectors on the days of Brazil’s World Cup matches.

According to the survey, among the retail categories that were most negatively impacted by the World Cup was the clothing sector. Last Friday, the day of the Brazil-Belgium match, clothing retailers saw sales plunge 43 percent as compared to a typical Friday.

Electronics retailers didn’t fare much better, registering results 34 percent less than a normal Friday. Brazilian drugstores saw sales dip sixteen percent.

Mixed results were seen in the food sector on Friday. With the game starting at 3PM, supermarkets predictably saw intense movement in the morning, with sharp reductions by gametime. Overall, however, supermarkets registered a slight increase on Friday sales of six percent.

Interestingly, restaurants saw sales fall fifteen percent on the day of the match. But, unsurprisingly, bars received a big boost from the match, showing a 36 percent increase on matchday. Brazil’s padarias (bakeries) also saw positive results on Friday, with sales increasing nine percent.

Though overall retail sales were down on the day of Brazil’s last World Cup match, the figures were actually an improvement over the Seleção‘s previous World Cup matchdays.

In their opening match against Switzerland on June 17th, retailers registered their biggest declines of the tournament, with sales plummeting 25 percent.

In their second match against Costa Rica, on June 22nd, retail sales declined twenty percent. On July 2nd, the day of Brazil’s match against Mexico, total retail sales fell fourteen percent.

Finally, on June 27th, when Brazil faced Serbia, retail sales equaled their biggest decline of tournament, dropping 25 percent.