British consumers are poised to spend a record £2.24 billion during this year’s Amazon Prime Day, largely driven by World Cup viewing upgrades and home improvements.
Despite cost-of-living pressures, online spending on the four-day event (June 23-26) is forecast to rise 7.9 per cent on last year, Adobe reports.
The event, usually held in July, now coincides with the Fifa World Cup. Adobe anticipates shoppers will “spend big” on World Cup-related items, viewing enhancements, and summer home upgrades.
Significant sales increases are expected for streaming devices (up 65 per cent on the last month), projectors (60 per cent), and televisions (45 per cent). Other categories poised for strong growth include smartwatches and fitness trackers (115 per cent), luggage (45 per cent), and smartphones (40 per cent).
Vivek Pandya, director of Adobe Digital Insights, noted: “Prime Day has always been a major spending moment for consumers, both for big-ticket items and everyday essentials. With the World Cup running at the same time, many shoppers will have deferred their pre-tournament purchases for a few weeks to take advantage of the deep Prime Day discounts.”
Further data from Samsung shows projector sales rose 46 per cent in April as fans invested ahead of the World Cup.
Zeena Hill, senior director of marketing at Samsung UK, added: “Fans are investing heavily in upgrading their viewing experience for this World Cup. Both premium TV and projectors are driving strong sales as sport continues to demonstrate the importance of watching the moment live with friends and family.”
Despite the time difference, the 2026 World Cup has so far been a major success for UK broadcasters. England’s 4-2 win against Croatia in their World Cup 2026 Group L opener had a peak television audience of 15.4 million, according to ITV, as the country gets behind Thomas Tuchel’s side in their quest for glory.
ITV said that an average of 14.2 million tuned in for the match with an average of 10 million for their entire broadcast from 8pm BST to 11.35pm BST. The broadcaster added that 2.3 million were in the 16-34 age bracket, but their figures did not include those who streamed the action on personal devices.
