It’s that time again. Every four years we’re infected with world cup fever as a wave of patriotism sweeps our nation. Even David Cameron has announced that Downing Street will fly the flag for England!

So now that the tournament has kicked off, our supermarkets, websites and shops are all competing to get in on the action, but will it benefit everyone?

According to polls, UK retail expenditure is expected to receive a £1.3bn boost during this summer’s World Cup in South Africa, so that’s the good news. But the bad news is that the uplift will only be in certain retail sub-sectors and it goes without saying that this increase in sales relies upon the success of the England team at the tournament and the ensuing feel good factor this generates, so I guess there’ll be a few fingers and toes crossed over the next few weeks.

Unfair as it might seem, the benefits of the world cup aren’t evenly spread. Town centres will mostly suffer from declining footfall, with department stores in particular being the worst affected as shoppers stay home for the games and spend their money elsewhere (although personally we always see a surge in football widows enjoying the quiet aisles during games)

There’ll be extra money spent on food and drink, so our supermarkets are the big winners here as people have their world cup parties – barbeque sales are soaring! While most supermarkets are using alcohol sales as a way to increase footfall but of course they’re cutting their margins to do so.

TV’s are another big spend area, with retailers such as Curry’s offering money back for every goal England score ! In the 2006 tournament the new flat screen TVs made electrical retailers a lot of money, but despite the emergence of 3D & LED televisions these are still not mass market enough for impulse purchases given the poor state of the economy. Still, there’s enough hype to keep electrical retailers very happy.

Retailers like Sainsburys are offering their staff world cup hours, which is one way to cut down on absenteeism. While M & S have the world cup winners from 1966 as the front men for their ad campaign which is a nice touch. Although my favourite product is still the B & Q world cup garden gnome – its one of those things you never knew you wanted till you saw it – trust me !

Excitement over the World Cup and better weather boosted high street sales last month but generally consumers are still watching their spending and waiting to see if they’ll be affected by the cuts that our new government is making clear are going to impact us all.

So we’re talking about a prolonged period of yet more uncertainty for business owners. The BRC is promoting cuts in spending, not tax or VAT increases. Analysts predict that raising the VAT rate to 20% would raise around £11.5 billion a year for the nations finances which must surely be tempting them ?

So, while you could never call me a football fan, I was inspired by the enthusiasm and pride of the South African people at the opening ceremony and the games since, and that’s something I wish we saw more of here in the UK.

Long live the Vuvuzelas !