World Cup Excitement Leads to 280% Increase in Soccer-Related Online Shopping in the U.S.

SAN JOSE, Calif., July 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2014 World Cup appears to have kicked up more than a sea of Tim Howard fans in the United States. Increasingly more consumers appear to be interested in the sport.  SLI Systems (SLI.NZ), a worldwide e-commerce acceleration provider for mid- to large-size e-commerce vendors and Internet retailers worldwide, studied consumer search behavior between March 2 and July 9, 2014.  For the month of June, soccer-related searches increased by 280% compared to May. Searches from Brazilian consumers showed a similarly dramatic increase.

The company conducted its study across eight international sporting goods and apparel retailers with combined monthly revenue of approximately $500M and analyzed more than 341 million consumer searches to track interest in soccer-related products, using country-specific product terminology from the U.S. and Brazil.  The interests of U.S.-based consumers were clear: there were more than 2.2 million soccer related product searches from just these eight e-commerce sites alone. 

"Everyone knows that soccer is a popular sport in South America. Working with more than 800 e-commerce vendors globally, SLI has the means to readily track which products they shop for online. We were curious to learn how the World Cup has affected interest in soccer and soccer goods in the U.S. and to compare that with Brazil," commented Tim Callan, CMO, SLI Systems.

"Soccer is played year-round in the U.S., but recreational soccer gear tends to be purchased before fall and spring seasons. We found a boost in online shopping behavior during June for products ranging from soccer cleats, balls, shin guards, gloves and other equipment, demonstrating the country's increased interest in actually playing the sport. It is clear that The World Cup U.S. fanfare will continue long after Sunday's final game."

Additional findings from the study include:

• June 16^th was the peak day for soccer-related shopping in the U.S., the day U.S. played Ghana. The peak day in Brazil was the 3^rd of July, the day before it played Columbia.
• In the U.S., the international teams with most consumer interest are Brazil, followed by Germany, Argentina, and the Netherlands.
• In Brazil, the international team with the most consumer interest is overwhelmingly Argentina.  The second most popular international team, the U.S., received less than 5% the shopping behavior of Argentina.
• Most popular search terms, in order, for the U.S.:
  • soccer
  • USA soccer
  • FIFA
  • Nike soccer
• Most popular search terms, in order, for Brazil:
  • luvas de goleiro de futebol (soccer goalkeeper gloves)
  • bola de futebol (soccer ball)
  • camisas times de futebol (soccer team shirts)
  • FIFA

Connect with SLI:
Twitter – twitter.com/slisystems
Facebook – facebook.com/slisystems
LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/sli-systems

About SLI Systems
SLI Systems (SLI.NZ) enables the world's leading e-commerce retailers to accelerate sales by connecting shoppers with the products they're most likely to buy. With offerings that include site search, navigation, merchandising, mobile, product recommendations and user-generated SEO, SLI Systems is the most chosen cloud-based site search provider to Internet Retailer Top 1,000 retailers. The company's patented technology continuously learns from the actions of visitors to deliver the most relevant results possible. Whether via PC, tablet or phone, a site powered by SLI Systems delivers the kind of satisfying search experience that increases conversion rates, secures brand loyalty and results in higher order values. SLI Systems operates on five continents. For more information, visit sli-systems.com.

For more information, contact:
Eileen Elam
SLI Systems
1-408-459-6248
[email protected]
www.twitter.com/slisystems

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SOURCE SLI Systems