For example, on the Friday night when the Dutch national team played France, more pins were used in the cafés than on a normal Friday night in June. The focus was on the before and after the game; during the game it was quieter at the pin machine.
The game between the Netherlands and Poland, however, took place on a Sunday. ING experienced the same development there, although the volume of debit card sales on that day was hardly different from that on a normal Sunday. “Sunday is probably a day when many consumers prefer not to spend too much time pre-matching and reflecting afterwards in the pub,” the bank says.
PIN rotation
Consumers appear to spend less time in restaurants and fast food chains during Dutch matches. During the first two matches, 35 percent fewer pins were uploaded than normal. Subsequently, ING observed that debit card sales volume recovered considerably, but this could not compensate for the loss of business volume. As a result, restaurants lost approximately 5 to 10 percent in PIN billing over these two days.
“Losses in turnover in restaurants are offset by expenses in other areas, for example, additional expenses in the supermarket,” concludes the bank. According to ING, on match days when the Dutch team faced Poland and France there were also more takeout and delivery orders at dinner time.