Why the World Cup is a make or break moment for retail this summer

Why the World Cup is a make or break moment for retail this summer

From The Modern Retail Podcast by Digiday

June 13, 2026 · 38 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the impact of the FIFA World Cup on retail marketing and consumer behavior, featuring insights from industry experts.

On this week's Modern Retail Podcast, senior reporter Gabriela Barkho is joined by executive editor Anna Hensel to talk all things World Cup marketing. This week, Modern Retail ran an editorial series on how retailers and brands of all sizes are taking advantage of the biggest-ever FIFA World Cup this summer. Malls are turning into hubs for fans, while retail media networks are looking at this as a critical moment to win over more advertiser dollars. As Hensel explains, this highly anticipated World Cup comes at a precarious moment for the industry, as retailers continue to worry that rising gas prices will lead consumers to cut back spending. The World Cup, then, will be a critical test for how resilient consumers actually are. Later on in the episode, Alyssa Grigg, senior director of marketing and communications for Evergreen Goodwill of Northwest Washington, joins the show to discuss how its Seattle store plans to capitalize on matches happening on its home turf. Seattle is hosting six World Cup matches, and the stadium happens to be minutes from the largest Goodwill in the world. So the thrifting nonprofit is hosting several activations and events throughout the tournament to…

People in this episode

Host: Gabriela Barkho

Guests: Anna Hensel, Alyssa Grigg

Topics covered

  • World Cup marketing
  • retail strategies
  • consumer behavior
  • thrifting
  • event activations

Keywords

  • World Cup
  • retail
  • marketing
  • consumer spending
  • thrifting
  • activations
  • Seattle

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Evergreen Goodwill of Northwest Washington

Places: Seattle, Northwest Washington

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