The 2026 FIFA World Cup logo is placed over the original logo of the Hard Rock stadium in Miami, Tuesday. EPA-Yonhap
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup about a week away, Korean businesses are showing little interest in expanding their promotional activities amid the event's falling marketing impact and shifting consumer spending patterns, industry officials said Wednesday.
The tournament — hosted jointly by the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19 — is generating a notably muted commercial response. Even if some retailers plan to hold modest campaigns, marketing activities across most industries have effectively ground to a halt.
The consumer electronics sector, which once thrived on the so-called “World Cup effect,” has particularly taken a hit. Lotte Himart recorded a 35 percent surge in sales of large-screen televisions 55 inches and above during the first 10 days of June 2018, shortly before the World Cup kicked off. This year, sales in May came in flat compared with a year earlier — a stark indicator that the television industry can no longer count on the tournament for a reliable boost.
This is attributable to a fundamental shift in people’s viewing habits.
