The FIFA World Cup 2026 will give the whole nation something to smile about this summer – particularly England fans, who are hoping for another success following the Lionesses’ impressive win over Spain in the UEFA Women’s Euros last year. After several years of seemingly unstoppable rising prices, rising business rates and a cost-of-living crisis of the likes most of us haven’t seen for a generation, all that could be about to change in a summer of footballing fun!
With the first World Cup match having kicked off on 11 June, and the tournament running until 19 July, the hospitality trade will be hoping that all the games taking place this summer – particularly the England ones – will provide an extra boost to businesses across the UK after an uncertain start to the year.
Bringing together 48 nations playing 104 matches, the 2026 World Cup is the largest ever in the history of the competition. Being hosted this year across the US, Canada and Mexico means matches will be shown in the late evening in the UK, and has prompted the government to allow later opening hours, meaning the World Cup will provide those in the retail and hospitality trades the perfect chance to boost their profits amidst one of the biggest trading opportunities of the year.
Live football games are big business for the UK, with 40 million of us planning to watch the World Cup this year, and there is a growing shift towards customers booking ahead for major sporting occasions. Research from Bar Magazine suggests that pub and restaurant bookings for establishments showing the first England game increase by 300% compared to a typical trading day, and even non-England World Cup games are expected to generate a 64% rise, year on year.
Further research from VoucherCodes.co.uk’s 2026 World Cup Spending Report predicts that UK consumers will spend in the region of £900 million in hospitality venues during the tournament, making 2026 a very prosperous summer for pubs, bars and restaurants showing the games.
Retailers will also see profits rise
It’s not just hospitality venues that will feel the benefits of World Cup mania – retailers also stand to do very well, with £2.9 billion forecasted to be spent in retail establishments during the event.
For those preferring to watch matches from the comfort and convenience of their own homes (an estimated 31.2 million Brits), or considering it as a cheaper option, friends and families will likely gather together for World Cup parties and BBQs and treat themselves to food, drink and half-time snacks to celebrate, which will be welcome news for both supermarkets and convenience stores.
And should England reach the latter stages of the competition, such important semi-finals and the final are bound to encourage families and friends across the country to get together, which means splashing out on more drinks and food, whether in the comfort of their own home or down their local pub or restaurant.
Getting Prepared for a Spending Increase
While most pubs and restaurants gearing up for this kind of global sporting event will already have invested in wide-screen TVs and comfy sofas, as well as a footie-themed menu and appropriate decor, they should also be thinking about how increased spending will affect the daily operations of their establishments.
Research from the Bank of England has shown that since the cost-of-living crisis began, many people in the UK are turning back to cash to help them budget. Even younger people have been demonstrating the use of ‘cash folders’ in TikTok videos, showing how to save cash for different expenditures, so pubs and restaurants need to be prepared to accept more cash to keep their customers happy, and also be prepared for how to handle it securely and process it correctly and efficiently.
The Volumatic Solution
With pubs potentially bursting at the seams during the biggest World Cup games, the last thing anyone in this industry needs is to worry about manual cash counting, and that’s where Volumatic can help.
We offer a range of intelligent and innovative cash handling solutions that can reduce manual processes from hours to mere minutes and provide additional security for large volumes of banknotes.
Our CountEasy money counting scale is the obvious choice for busy public houses and eateries, and is already used by both Mitchells & Butlers’, Youngs and Marston’s PLC, who run well over 3,500 pubs and restaurants across the UK.
The CountEasy offers 100% accurate cash counting and can count a till drawer in under a minute, resulting in huge time savings for hospitality staff when it comes to daily reconciliation. It’s also lightweight and portable, meaning that cash counting can be done anywhere, plus its software records counts and is perfect for daily reporting purposes and audits.
The CountEasy range also includes the CountEasy IP version with an integrated printer and the CountEasy TS version with a touchscreen and boasting even greater functionality.
Ian Gosling from Mitchells and Butlers said: “We have been buying Volumatic CountEasy cash counters for some years now. The units are reliable and easy to use and require no training. I would be more than happy to recommend them to anyone.”
Volumatic’s Director of UK Sales, Mike Severs, added: “Our best-selling CountEasy range is popular for a reason – it reduces the time spent counting a till drawer to less than a minute, and they really are so simple to use. As Mitchells and Butlers and Marston’s can attest to, our CountEasy scales really can help those in the hospitality trade become more efficient and save money during the busy World Cup period and beyond, making them a no-brainer investment.”
