MRM Research Roundup: World Cup Impact

This special edition of Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine's Research Roundup focuses on the 2026 FIFA World Cup and its impact on restaurants and hospitality. Beyond the traffic spikes, data reveals how fans shifted their behavior to enjoy the matches. 

Increased Foot Traffic in Host Cities

Weekly visits to bars and pubs in host cities during the World Cup compared to the same period in 2025 shows that nearly all metro areas outperformed the nationwide average on a year over year basis, according to research from Placer.ai. The standouts on the West Coast – the Los Angeles CBSA and the Bay Area (combined San Jose and San Francisco CBSAs) – saw visits up more than 15 perent above the same period in 2025. Houston also recorded double-digit growth, while New York, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, Seattle, Philadelphia, Miami, and Boston all posted gains above the national average. 

This data results suggest that every host metro except Kansas City outperformed the national trend, suggesting that the tournament generated a broad-based boost to local bars and pubs across the country.

The Power of Communal

As Spain and Argentina prepare to meet in Sunday’s FIFA World Cup final at MetLife Stadium, millions of soccer fans are expected to gather in bars, breweries and private venues across the United States, capping one of the biggest communal sporting events the country has ever hosted.

Throughout the tournament, official fan festivals, sports bars and neighborhood venues have welcomed supporters from around the world, turning World Cup matches into shared social occasions far beyond the stadium gates.

Analysis from venue marketplace Tagvenue suggests growing numbers of fans are also creating their own watch parties, hiring private bars, breweries, function rooms and event spaces to enjoy the tournament with friends, family and fellow supporters.

Private watch parties become part of the World Cup experience

Tagvenue has seen commissionable spend from bookings for sports screening spaces roughly double year-on-year since 2024, with the 2026 tournament already outperforming the equivalent period last year before Sunday’s final.

While private watch parties remain an emerging part of the wider venue market, the trend points to changing viewing habits. Rather than relying on finding space in a crowded sports bar, larger groups are increasingly organizing their own dedicated match-day experiences.

Previous Tagvenue analysis found that demand is overwhelmingly driven by larger gatherings. More than eight in ten, or 81 percent, of World Cup venue enquiries were for groups of 20 or more, while almost half, 46 percent, were for groups of at least 50 people. The average group size was 63, with a typical median booking for 40 guests.

The figures suggest communal viewing is becoming a planned event rather than a last-minute trip to the nearest bar. Friends, families, supporters’ groups, workplaces and local communities are booking dedicated spaces where they can guarantee seating, food, drinks and a clear view of the game.

The World Cup has become a nationwide hospitality event

The impact of the tournament has extended well beyond the 16 host cities. Across the country, supporters have gathered at official fan festivals, neighborhood bars, breweries, restaurants and community screenings, while businesses and supporters’ clubs have transformed private venues into temporary fan zones.

The Spain vs Argentina final is expected to attract particularly strong interest. Both countries have large and passionate supporter communities across the US, while the match also brings together two of international soccer’s most recognizable teams.

For hospitality businesses, the tournament has shown that major sporting events can generate demand even hundreds of miles from the nearest stadium.

More than just sports bars

The tournament has also broadened the types of venues benefiting from match-day demand. Restaurants with private dining rooms, breweries, hotel event spaces, rooftops and flexible function venues can all host screenings when they have the right equipment and broadcast access.

For larger groups, private venues offer several advantages over traditional sports bars, including guaranteed seating, clearer views of the screen and the ability to arrange food and drinks in advance.

With supporters expected to gather throughout New York and New Jersey, as well as in cities across the country, the match is set to provide one final surge for the bars, restaurants, breweries and event spaces that have helped turn the tournament into a nationwide social occasion.

For many venues, the past six weeks have demonstrated that soccer can deliver valuable trading opportunities well beyond traditional sports bars and host cities.

Gameday Data

To see exactly how the tournament is impacting the hospitality industry, Toast analyzed gameday transaction data from June 19, 2026, within a five-mile radius of Seattle’s stadium during the USA vs. Australia match. Because the match coincided with Juneteenth, the holiday and the tournament combined to create a massive day for local businesses.

Key insights from the report include:

📈 Massive Revenue Gains: Overall Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) skyrocketed 51 percent compared to a regular Friday, driven by a 56 percent surge in total transactions.

🌭Grill & Chill: Hot dog orders jumped an astonishing 228 percent, followed by notable spikes in nachos (+87 percent), wings (+64 percent), and chicken tenders (+63 percent).

🍻Tapping the Kegs: Beer was far and away the top seller by volume, with sales surging 212 percent above a typical Friday. Fans also mixed it up with spirits, driving gains for vodka (+139 percent), tequila (+131 percent), and rum (+104 percent).

⚽Pre-Game Rush: Transaction data shows that fans packed restaurants early to fuel up before the noon kickoff, resulting in a 145 percent transaction spike at 10 a.m. A second major surge hit between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. as the match wrapped up.

📉The Tipping Dip: Despite the massive spending, average tip percentages actually dropped to 16.4 percent (down 0.8 percentage points from a normal Friday). This is likely driven by an influx of international tourists unfamiliar with U.S. tipping culture, a shift toward single-drink orders at bars, or the implementation of automatic gratuities.

Bars and Breweries Cash In on Fan Demand

Square data shows eight percent increase in revenue at bars and breweries during the tournament’s group stage versus baseline periods with sellers seeing notable increases during late night hours, with a 20.2 percent increase in transactions during 10 p.m.-1 a.m. periods.

Bars and breweries in many match markets saw larger lifts compared to the national average. The areas that saw the biggest lift in transaction volume over the group stages include Boston (28 percent), Philadelphia (23 percent), Seattle (21.8 percent), and New York/New Jersey (18.5 percent).

Inside bars and breweries, category and item-level data reveal how consumers were actually spending:

• Food orders overall were up 13.6 percent, with burgers (11.6 percent) a fan favorite. Ranch dressing also emerged as a standout, up 11.5 percent

• Non-alcoholic and mocktail options rose 11.8 percent, outpacing the lift beer saw at 8.8 percent

• Soda was another popular beverage option, rising by 11.1 percent

Beyond the bar, other Food & Beverage categories also saw modest lifts, with transactions at full-service restaurants (FSRs) up 3.5 percent and quick-service restaurants up 3.1 percent. The average tip percentage at bars and breweries across the group stage matches was 16.7 percent and 14.8 percent for FSRs.

Big Gains and Big Tips

Fans and tourists are spending more and, in some cities, tipping significantly higher, according to real-time data from sunday, the World Cup has led to increased foot traffic across bars and restaurants nationwide, with some of the biggest gains happening in Los Angeles and New York. 

sunday’s restaurant data in host cities (i.e. LA, Dallas, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia, etc) comparing the World Cup thus far (beginning June 11) with the operators’ previous weekly averages reveals that…

• Restaurant orders increased nearly seven percent, while total turnover rose 3.4 percent.
• Despite differing cultural tipping norms, nationally, overall tip rates increased – going up .5 percent (a sizable jump for waitstaff).
• The city with the highest tip increases? LA. In fact, some Los Angeles restaurants even saw average tip rates skyrocket nearly 37 percent (jumping from 12.9 percent to 17.6 percent).
• LA restaurants generated nearly 12 percent more revenue and processed almost 11 percent more orders during the World Cup period.
• In New York, orders climbed nearly 11 percent, while average order value increased 3.9 percent and tip rates rose 3.5 percent.
• Atlanta restaurants experienced a nearly 6 percent increase in orders and 3.5 percent boost in total turnover.

Pubs Filled for Midweek Match

England's World Cup semi-final defeat may have broken hearts, but new data from guest WiFi provider Purple shows it filled pubs on a scale no ordinary midweek could match.

Analyzing anonymized guest WiFi activity across its UK pub venues on Wednesday 15 July, benchmarked against a comparable Wednesday, Purple found: 

• Visitors were up 82 percent across the day – and up 150 percent from 5 p.m. onwards. At the 7 p.m. peak, as fans settled in an hour before kick-off, venues saw 316 percent more visitors than a normal Wednesday. 

• WiFi logins rose 54 percent across the day, and 140 percent from 5 p.m. At half-time, logins doubled in 15 minutes as phones came out with the refills. 

• Young adults drove the surge. Visitors aged 18-24 were up 199 percent and 25-34s up 115 percent, while the over-65s rose just five percent. 

• Women out-turned-out men. Female visitors were up 91 percent across the day against 80 percent for men – and up 140 percent from 5 p.m., against 121 percent. 

On-Prem Beverage Sales Up

BeerBoard's latest World Cup Insights report covering the tournament through Week Five suggests that while the pace of growth has begun to moderate, on-premise beverage sales continue to outperform comparable periods from last year.