This summer’s World Cup will fuel less sales growth than the tournament did in 2006, new data suggests.

Total retail expenditure is set to rise by £1.3bn during June and July 2010, according to forecasts by Verdict. In 2006, when the tournament was hosted in Germany, an increase of £1.5bn was recorded over the equivalent period.

“Expenditure growth is predominately being driven by inflation, particularly in food and grocery, not by the World Cup,” said Verdict. “While some categories, such as alcoholic drinks and sportswear are set to benefit, this spend will simply be transferred from elsewhere.”

Grocery will get the lion’s share of extra spending, however, with Verdict predicting an extra £1.1bn spent on food and drink – a year-on-year uplift of 5.2%. Sales of alcoholic drinks are expected to grow by 7.2%, or £164m.

Verdict’s Joseph Robinson said Tesco and Sainsbury’s were best placed to make gains during the footballing jamoree, which kicks off a week today (11 June).

He said the supermarket duo would be “better able to satisfy immediate consumer demand through their rapidly expanding convenience formats and non-food offers”.

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