As the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup gets underway in the UK, PayPal is releasing data from a 2019 study about overseas travel and shopping trends, specifically in relation to sporting events.
PayPal’s research found that 79% of South African international travellers were likely to travel overseas for a sporting event, such as the Cricket World Cup.
The World Cup is a big draw for South Africans who travel overseas. 29% of respondents confirmed that they had been to an overseas World Cup event, with 54% of those travellers singling out the FIFA World Cup.
“Many consumers associate PayPal with shopping for goods online,” said Efi Dahan, GM: Russia, Middle East, Eastern Europe and Africa at PayPal. “PayPal is also an ideal solution for when you are arranging a trip overseas for a sporting event. You can book accommodation, event tickets and even buy merchandise from your favourite team securely with a PayPal account.”
Many South Africans have previously travelled abroad for a sporting event. When asked what event spurred a trip overseas, 7 out of the top 10 responses were sport-related, including events such as the FIFA Soccer World Cup, the Rugby World Cup, the Olympics, English Premier League matches, Wimbledon, or Formula One Racing.
“PayPal is an ideal service to use when travelling overseas for a sporting event. With features like our Buyer Protection Programme, consumers ticket and merchandise purchases can be protected by such programme for all eligible purchases, even when they are away from home,” continued Dahan.
The research also showed that many South Africans were considering making purchases from online retailers prior to their overseas travel. Many wanted to do this to take advantage of better pricing and selection from retailers abroad.
“As South Africans are preparing to go abroad for these big events, many are now shopping for specific items before they even arrive,” continued Dahan. “ This saves time and helps you budget for your overseas trip. It also means you can show up to the match with your team’s jersey already on!”
The research found that 35% of respondents have pre-ordered from retailers when travelling overseas, and 78% would consider pre-ordering before going overseas. The top pre-ordered items were electronics (60%) and clothing (55%).