The party mood that’s been a hallmark of the soccer World Cup in Russia is cheering retailers and restaurants as fans give a boost to consumer spending.
Supermarket chains, electronic stores and eateries report a surge in sales and customer traffic as the world’s most-watched sports event spurs demand for beverages, food and TVs. The flow of foreign and domestic visitors around Russia may give “a material boost” to consumer spending, according to a report by Bank of America Corporation.
After President Vladimir Putin spent $11 billion on preparations, Russia’s earned widespread praise for its efficient organisation of the World Cup that’s drawn hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the world. The national team’s success in reaching the quarterfinals against expectations also sparked huge excitement among domestic supporters.
Many foreign fans have remarked on the warm welcome they’ve received, adding to the festive atmosphere in the 11 cities that have hosted matches including Moscow, Kaliningrad in the west, Volgograd in the south and Yekaterinburg in the Urals.
“Sales during game days are four times higher than a typical weekend night,” said Doug Steele, a Canadian whose food and drinks outlet is located on Moscow’s Nikolskaya Street, which became the unofficial epicenter of fan celebrations during the month-long tournament. “It’s complete chaos.”
The World Cup may boost event-related spending in Russia by as much as $5bn in June and July in areas “like retail sales, paid services, including internet, mobile traffic, as well as domestic travel,” Vladimir Osakovskiy, an economist at Bank of America, said in an emailed note. While it’ll have a “fairly small” overall effect on Russia’s economy, the “total positive impact of the World Cup” may be about 1 percentage point of monthly gross domestic product split between the second and third quarters, he said.
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Read more:
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It’s a welcome fillip for an economy struggling to regain momentum after emerging last year from the longest recession this century. While consumer demand is the main driver of expansion, the pace of retail sales growth remains weaker than before the downturn. It averaged 2.4 per cent in the first five months of 2018 and probably expanded 2.5 per cent in June from a year earlier, according to a Bloomberg survey.
Customer traffic rose between 45 per cent and 63 per cent at Perekrestok supermarkets in host cities in the tournament’s first two weeks, with significant increases in sales of drinks and snacks, according to X5 Retail Group, the country’s largest retailer, which owns the chain. Magnit, Russia’s second-biggest retailer, and another chain, Lenta, reported a similar sales picture.
Sales at Rosinter Restaurants Holding, which has 249 eateries across Russia, are up 30 per cent on average since the World Cup started and have doubled at some locations, according to Sergey Zaytsev, the company’s president. “Foreign visitors usually make up 10 per cent to 15 per cent of customers in our restaurants in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but during game days, and especially after matches, it was 90 per cent,” he said.
Russia’s largest electronics chain, M.Video, said sales of TVs and smartphones as well as accessories for them rose by about 20 per cent in May to June compared to a year earlier.
Even so, World Cup fever may subside quickly once the championship ends on Sunday. Among the countries that staged the previous three World Cups, only South Africa registered significant growth in consumption after the tournament while retail sales fell in Germany.
A gauge that tracks Russian service industries from restaurants to telecommunications also fell to 52.3 last month from 54.1. “Despite the World Cup kicking off, business activity in Russia’s service sector expanded at only a modest rate in June” said Sian Jones, an economist at IHS Markit, which compiles the survey.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Voices: How A Great Singer Can Change Your Life
Nick Coleman
Jonathan Cape
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Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East
Orlando Crowcroft
Zed Books
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Directed: Smeep Kang
Produced: Soham Rockstar Entertainment; SKE Production
Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Jimmy Sheirgill, Sunny Singh, Omkar Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma
Rating: Two out of five stars
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (all kick-offs UAE time)
Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (10.30pm)
Saturday
Freiburg v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Paderborn v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)
Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Sunday
Schalke v Augsburg (3.30pm)
Mainz v RB Leipzig (5.30pm)
Cologne v Fortuna Dusseldorf (8pm)
