England’s success in reaching the World Cup quarter finals could see grocery sales rise over the weekend (Friday 6th and Saturday 7th July).
Kantar WorldPanel has predicted a £860 million rise in grocery sales which is a 5% uplift on usual figures.
Based on last week’s demand, Tesco has also predicted that the coming week see around four million burgers sold, three million punnets of strawberries, five million bags of salad and six million ice lollies.
Barbecue sales are also predicted to rise as the current heatwave continues.
Tesco BBQ foods buyer Natalie Bastow said: “Fantastic weather and the world’s biggest sporting event are creating a real carnival atmosphere across Britain.
“The mere mention of a heatwave from weather forecasters is enough to change shopping plans and judging by present sales many people are enjoying al fresco dining right now.
“But of course with the added excitement of the World Cup and England doing well many people are inviting friends and family over to enjoy the fun together.”
Matt Botham, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel, comments: “We’re looking at an extra 1.4 million trips to the shops on Friday and Saturday.
“Retailers need to make sure they’re prepared for the extra footfall on a stock and staffing level – long queues and empty shelves just before kick-off are unlikely to go down well with shoppers.”
Other sale predictions from Tesco include 3.5 million sausages, 650,000 packs of Greek cheese and one million punnets of blueberries.
Bastow concludes: “This is already the best summer for BBQ meat sales for several years and our most popular lines so far have been maple pork loin steaks and Lemon & Herb Jerk Chicken Wings.”