New mobility data suggests the opening match of the FIFA World Cup at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California attracted a large number of visitors from outside the immediate area while driving higher traffic to nearby retailers, restaurants and hotels, according to Arity.
Arity said its analysis, based on anonymized mobility data from more than 45 million U.S. drivers, found that nearly half of the devices tracked at the event had not been within a 10-mile corridor surrounding SoFi Stadium during the previous week, pointing to a significant non-local presence on match day.
The findings offer an early indication of how the tournament may influence consumer activity in host cities like Toronto and Vancouver as matches continue, based on observed changes in visits to retailers and other businesses surrounding the opening game.
According to the analysis, 48 per cent of devices detected near the stadium on match day had not been in the surrounding 10-mile area during the previous week.
The company also reported a sharp increase in visits to sporting goods stores, with traffic rising 123 per cent compared with the previous Friday. Lunchtime visits to those stores more than doubled over the same period.
Grocery store visits increased 30 per cent overall, while several retailers recorded larger gains.
Arity said visits to Erewhon rose 300 per cent, Costco locations saw a 163 per cent increase, Trader Joe’s recorded a 45 per cent increase and Starbucks visits were up 76 per cent.
The analysis also found higher activity at other nearby businesses as visitors arrived for the match.
Hotel visitations increased 42 per cent, while restaurant visits were up 26 per cent ahead of kickoff.
The company said the patterns observed around the opening match could provide an early indication of how major events influence consumer shopping behaviour and retail traffic as the World Cup continues in other host cities.
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