Chinanews.com, November 24th (Chinanews Finance and Economics reporter Zuo Yukun) What is the correct way to start the World Cup?

Of course, make an appointment with three or five friends and prepare skewers of beer!

　　The much-anticipated World Cup in Qatar has kicked off.

This football event in the northern hemisphere winter is a bit special. It is not realistic to drink beer in the open air on the side of the road and eat barbecue skewers; grilling heaters at home, eating hot pot, and drinking iced drinks have become new choices for many fans.

　　Judging from the sharing of fans and business platforms and related data trends, this winter's World Cup has shown that the consumption enthusiasm of summer has not lost, and it has also driven the sales growth of various "watching companions".

The giant "football" on the square of Qatar World Cup Fans Festival.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Tomita

Stay at home to watch football, eat and drink well

　　"Hot pot, hairy crabs, beer...of course, you can come here for something delicious. This is a big day every four years!" Mr. Zhan, a long-time football fan, said that he usually doesn't pay much attention to food and drink, but he still wants to eat when watching the World Cup. There is a sense of ceremony.

　　Of course, the World Cup in winter also changed the ritual sense of Mr. Zhan and his friends—from "Which restaurant do you want to go to today?" to "Who's going to watch the football today?" A few of us old fans discussed with each other, and we took turns going to each other's home to watch every game." Mr. Zhan said.

　　The work during the day makes it impossible for fans to cook rich dishes by themselves every night, and takeaway has become an important help to create an atmosphere for watching football.

Many takeaway catering merchants launched "World Cup Packages" including beer, barbecue, etc. on the eve of the game, bringing a lot of smoke to the fans who gathered to watch the game.

　　According to data from Meituan, on the opening day of the World Cup alone, the overall orders for beer, beverages, snacks, and fruit delivery across the country increased by 31% month-on-month and 27% year-on-year.

　　According to data from Ele.me, three days before the start of the game, orders for takeaway drinks during nighttime snacks in Beijing have increased by nearly 50% month-on-month, and orders for fruits and snacks have increased by more than 30%.

　　Although it is difficult for us to see the scenes of drinking and celebrating in the broadcast due to the ban on the sale of alcohol in this World Cup, Chinese consumers' enthusiasm for beer remains undiminished.

According to data from a food delivery platform, on the day of the opening ceremony of the World Cup, national beer takeaway orders increased by 43% month-on-month, and beverage takeaway orders increased by 25% month-on-month.

　　"This year's World Cup will be held in winter. People don't want to go out to buy things in the cold weather. They stay at home and shop through takeaways. The enthusiasm for consumption is still very high." The owner of a convenience store in Beijing said that driven by the World Cup, beer drinks are expected to be extended. In the traditional peak season of sales in the second and third quarters, the sales continued to increase.

　　The consumption of snacks and fruits also ushered in a small explosion.

On the Meituan platform, on the opening day of the World Cup, snack takeaway orders increased by 55% month-on-month, and fruit orders increased by 35% month-on-month.

Among them, melon seeds increased by 69%, French fries increased by 62%, peanuts increased by 35%, and nuts increased by 32%.

　　It is worth noting that, in addition to barbecue, pizza, beer and other traditional "watching delicious" takeaway orders have increased significantly, hot pot has also sprung up this year.

Not only has the number of takeaway orders for hot pot increased significantly, but three days before the start of the game, the number of takeaway orders for electric hot pot has also increased by 160% compared with the same period last year. "Eating hot pot and watching the game" has become a new consumption trend of the Winter World Cup.

　　During the World Cup, Haidilao launched a "watching menu", which not only includes new products such as Haidilao's supper bullfrog pot, hot stewed four heavenly kings, Laopai's popular Jiugongge, but also refreshing drinks such as fresh beer and slightly drunk Phoenix Dancong; Dingdong Maicai also launched the "Plum Kai Two Belly" set meal, which includes pepper pork belly chicken pot bottom and pork belly strips, and the "Scoring Coconut" set meal featuring Hainan coconut chicken pot bottom, etc. "Add a fire.

Fans watched the World Cup while eating hot pot.

Photo provided by the interviewee

Purchase equipment and immerse yourself in the game

　　In addition to satisfying the appetite for eating and drinking, a more substantial viewing experience is also what fans are pursuing.

Big screens, projectors, speakers, wearing jerseys, hanging flags... a series of equipment and arrangements make watching football at home feel full of ritual.

　　In restaurants, bars or in your own home, a string of national flags of World Cup participating teams is a powerful tool to enhance the sense of atmosphere.

According to data from the food delivery platform, sales of World Cup hanging flags rose by 3,250% month-on-month during the first three days of the tournament.

　　"We started to receive orders for the World Cup last year. It is normal to order tens of thousands of flags for each foreign trade order. The shipment volume of this World Cup should have reached 2 million flags of all sizes." A Yiwu bunting manufacturer said.

　　Many fans also upgraded their viewing equipment early.

Suning.com's "2022 Double Eleven Consumer Trend Report" shows that the World Cup has brought fire to indoor audio-visual entertainment and sports and health equipment. The sales of 8K ultra-high-definition TVs increased by 183% month-on-month. up to 228%.

　　It doesn't matter if you don't prepare in advance, the convenient and fast projector has become the choice of many people.

Three days before the start of the competition, the take-out orders for projectors on some platforms increased by 165% year-on-year; the take-out orders for speakers increased by more than 100% year-on-year.

　　It is understood that many takeaway projector merchants have also launched package installation and maintenance services. "The price is similar to that on the Internet, and the order will be delivered to the home in the afternoon. After installation, you can watch the game at night."

　　"The projector is indeed very necessary. With it, the team you support won't have the trouble of 'smashing the TV' when they lose." Mr. Zhan also joked.

　　It's not just Chinese fans who favor the immersive viewing experience brought by projectors.

Google Trends shows that in the past five years, the projector market has been in a stage of rapid growth, especially in the past two years, Chinese-made brands rely on high cost performance and rapid technological improvement.

　　On the AliExpress platform, this trend is even more pronounced.

Statistics show that as the World Cup approaches, sales of domestic projectors in Brazil have increased by 250% year-on-year in the past 30 days. In the Middle East where the World Cup is located, sales of domestic projectors have increased by 120% year-on-year.

　　In addition, the "atmosphere group" equipment that you may not think of, such as sofas, lazy chairs, household ice machines, table football machines, etc., but absolutely useful, also adds a hand to this winter football event. fire.

　　What did you buy for the World Cup?

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