Volume 3, Edition 7

World Cup Creates Lost Productivity in the Work Place!

USA…USA…USA! The familiar chant will once again be heard for the matchup against Ghana in the World Cup on June 16th. While many of the games are during work hours, a new study by digital offers destination RetailMeNot found that over one in ten (13%) working Americans admit to having watched the World Cup while at work and nearly as many (10%) would leave work to watch it. Employers beware: you’ve got some lost productivity headed your way!

Even with all the hype surrounding the World Cup, 93% of Americans have never been to a Major League Soccer game and nearly as many (91%) cannot name at least five Major League Soccer teams. In fact, 82% cannot even name one team!

So, who really watches the games? Not too surprising. More males than females have watched soccer games on television (36% vs. 23%) and males are more likely than females to have ever watched or been to a World Cup game (21% vs. 11%).

Other interesting points from our respondents:

• 20% of parents have at least one child that plays soccer.
• 33% of Americans rank soccer as one of the top three least expensive sports to play.
• 30% of Americans have watched soccer games on television but far fewer (16%) have watched or been to a World Cup soccer game specifically

RetailMeNot Real Deal writer Zach Fragapane is taking his white thighs, gallon of sunscreen and 144 pairs of sunglasses to Brazil and no one can stop him. Find out more about his preparations for the upcoming trip!

Methodology:

The survey was conducted between April 22 and April 29, 2014 among 1,009 nationally representative Americans ages 18 and over, using an email invitation and an online survey. Quotas are set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the entire U.S. population ages 18 and over. Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of the interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. In this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3.1 percentages points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample. The margin of error for any subgroups will be slightly higher.