Brands and goods from the Olympic host country of France are seeing an uptick in popularity as the competition unfolds. Data from Alibaba’s ecommerce platforms reveals the Olympic influence on shopping habits around the world.
Olympic influence for French brands
For instance, Paris-based luxury skincare brand Orlane saw its sales grow 300-fold on cross-border marketplace Tmall Global between the 23rd of July and 4th of August compared with the same period a year earlier.
Bordeaux-region winemaker Chateau d’Armailhac reported a 200-fold rise in its sales over this same timeframe, and champagne purveyor Perrier-Jouet in Epernay also announced that its sales had seen a 70-times increase as Chinese sports fans celebrate their wins in style.
Team China’s Olympic influence
The Olympic influence wasn’t restricted to French products, Team China’s string of gold-medal successes on land and water at Paris 2024 has sparked a sports craze among consumers.
Zhang Qinwen’s gold medal victory in Paris prompted searches for tennis-related equipment to jump 300% year-on-year between the 4th and 5th of August on Tmall, while table tennis and badminton-related queries rose 234% and 98%, respectively.
Zheng’s racquet of choice, the Wilson Pro Staff 97 v14, has also become a hot commodity. The product received over 40,000 views on Tmall within 48 hours of her gold medal match, and its transaction volume on the platform soared 2,000% year-on-year.
A Nike shirt worn by Zheng’s coach as he cheered her on—dubbed the “only gold medal t-shirt” by Chinese netizens—was viewed over 20,000 times on Tmall within 48 hours of her win, and more than 4,000 people placed orders.
Swimming has been making waves as well among Chinese consumers, buoyed by the golden performance of Pan Zhanle in the 100m freestyle and team relay.
Between Zhanle’s first gold medal win on the first of August and his second on 5th, sales of water sports products rose nearly 40% year-on-year, according to Tmall data. Views of Pan’s dark-tinted Speedo goggles doubled and sales grew nearly 150% on the brand’s Tmall flagship store.
Likewise, a pair of shoes favored by springboard diver Quan Hongchan also experienced an uptick in interest.
The bright yellow McDonald’s co-branded Crocs recorded a 56-fold rise in views on cross-border platform Tmall Global between July 23 and Aug. 4 compared with the 12 days prior.
Even toys are getting in on the action. A paddle-shaped plushie, the product of a collaboration between tennis table gold medallist Fan Zhendong and toy brand Jellycat, saw its sales soar 1,425% over the same period on the platform.
