Brands and products from France, the host country of the Olympics, have become increasingly popular as the games have progressed, and data from Alibaba’s e-commerce platform highlights the impact the games have on shopping habits around the world.
The impact of the Olympics on French brands
For example, Paris-based luxury skincare brand Orlane saw its sales on cross-border marketplace Tmall Global increase 300-fold between July 23 and August 4 compared to the same period last year.
Bordeaux winemaker Chateau d’Armailhac reported a 200-fold increase in sales over the same period, while Epernay champagne retailer Perrier-Jouet announced a 70-fold increase in sales as Chinese sports fans celebrated victories in style.
China’s Olympic Impact
The impact of the Olympics is not limited to French products, as the Chinese team’s consecutive gold medals in track and field and water sports at the 2024 Paris Olympics have sparked a sports fever among consumers.
Following Zhang Geum-wen’s gold medal win in Paris, searches for tennis-related products on Tmall increased 300% year-on-year from August 4 to 5, while searches for table tennis and badminton increased 234% and 98%, respectively.
Zheng’s favorite racket, the Wilson ProStaff 97 v14, was also a hot item, garnering over 40,000 views on Tmall within 48 hours of winning the gold medal, with transaction volume on the platform up 2,000% year-on-year.
The Nike shirt worn by Zheng’s coach while cheering on the team was dubbed “the only gold medal T-shirt” by Chinese netizens, and within 48 hours of the victory, it had been viewed more than 20,000 times on Tmall and more than 4,000 people had ordered it.
Swimming has also generated a lot of buzz among Chinese consumers, driven by Pan Jianle’s stellar performances in the 100m freestyle and team relay.
According to Tmall data, between Zhangle’s first gold medal on August 1 and his second gold medal on August 5, sales of water sports products increased by nearly 40% year-on-year. Views of Pan’s dark-colored speed goggles doubled, and sales at the brand’s Tmall flagship store increased by nearly 150%.
Similarly, there has been interest in the shoes preferred by diver Quan Hongchan.
Bright yellow, co-branded with McDonald’s, Crocs saw a 56-fold increase in views on cross-border platform Tmall Global between July 23 and August 4 compared to the previous 12 days.
Toys have also joined in the movement: Sales of a paddle-shaped stuffed toy, a collaboration between table tennis gold medallist Fan Zhendong and toy brand Jellycat, have soared 1,425% on the platform compared to the same period last year.
