UK sales of premier league shirts dropped by 55% in september
In devastating news to the English football clubs, the planned reintroduction of fans to stadiums in October has been scrapped and games are still being played behind closed doors.
LovetheSales.com data reports demand levels for replica football shirts to be at a historic 5 year low, and UK sales of strips has dropped by 55% in September, compared to September 2019 figures.
Stay-at-home supporters: Covid-19 causes a 55% fall in Premier League club shirt sales.
UK fans spent an estimated £23.9 million on Premiership kits alone last season. However, with the dramatic fall in supporter spend on this year’s new kits, the LovetheSales.com data team estimate a £13 million loss in UK shirt sales for Premiership teams this campaign.
Stuart McClure, co-founder of LovetheSales.com, commented on the impact of coronavirus on football shirt sales, “It’s no secret that big money signings, pre-season tours and fans at games have a huge impact on September shirt sales for English clubs. Without the last two factors in 2020, sales for English football kits has dropped by 55% year-on-year.”
“Just like clothing retailers, Football teams must adapt to the new normal, and reach out to supporters through online channels, to keep fans invested in their clubs and merchandise.”
The Football Shirt League Table 2020/21
That being said, teams have been releasing their new shirts throughout the summer. Following the popularity of last year’s table, the LovetheSales.com data team have ranked the 2020/21 shirts for the 89 clubs in England, based solely on shopper demand for the club’s home strip.
(Gillingham, Salford City & Harrogate Town, have yet to release data on their 2020/21 home jersey online)
Which English club will take the bragging rights for the ‘most wanted’ jersey of the 2020/21 season?
(Gillingham, Salford City & Harrogate Town, have yet to release data on their 2020/21 home jersey online)
Table stats
Arsenal’s home kit has overtaken Liverpool as the most popular jersey in English football this season.
Chelsea climb 3 spaces to 2nd in the table as demand for the 20/21 home jersey has increased by 84% year-on-year.
Fulham is the Premiership club with the least desirable home kit, even though its promotion has lead to the club jumping up 15 places from the 2019/20 season.
After an impressive 19/20 campaign, Brentford have climbed 39 spots in the table. The London club have had the largest increase in demand YOY for their shirt (+179%).
Everton’s home kit has jumped up 5 spaces. After the announcement of signing James Rodriguez on Monday (7th September), demand for Everton’s jersey has spiked by 32%.
Analysis is based on search data, page views and sales metrics of 4 million shoppers searching 6 million fashion items on LovetheSales.com.
LovetheSales.com is a global marketplace for online shopping and discounts. Partnering with over 1,000 UK retailers.
Top 5 Popular English Football Shirts - 2019/20 Season
Liverpool (Home)
Off the back of their most successful campaign since 2005, Liverpool are heading into this season as joint favourites to win the league title.
The club’s gold crest and pinstripe design by New Balance is a throwback to the shirt from their 1982/83 league winning campaign.
The new home kit is the most popular in the UK. Demand has almost doubled since last season.
Arsenal (Home)
The Arsenal Home shirt is a first for new sponsor, Adidas. And what a winner it is!
Our data team tracked a sharp increase of 84% in demand for Arsenal’s home shirt, compared to 2018’s edition.
The jersey has red and white trim and the classic Adidas stripes covering the shoulders, giving it a retro look.
Retro kits are a big trend in 2019, with Germany and Spain both wearing retro designs in this year’s women’s World Cup.
Manchester United (Home)
Demand for Manchester United’s new home kit has actually fallen by 5% when compared to their 2018/19 edition. Still, it remains the third most desired strip.
This shirt pays homage to the 20th anniversary of Manchester United’s 1999 treble winning strip, placing a big gold crest onto a deep red shirt.
Adidas are known for making popular shirts, but the poor league form in recent year’s led meant Man United’s stock falling in the footballing community.
Manchester City (Home)
Manchester City are gaining a heap of attention from football fans. As domestic treble winners they head into the new season as firm favourites for the league title. Sadly though, not for the shirts title, coming in fourth.
However, the recent success of the club has led to an increase in demand for the home kit of 110%.
The Puma home shirt is sky blue with purple trim on the shoulders. It is not the most innovative shirt design you’ll see this season, but still a popular one with fans.
Chelsea (home)
Chelsea are another club that have embraced the 90’s retro kit trend. They’ve incorporated images of beams and supports found around Stamford Bridge onto the Nike shirt.
Due to their transfer embargo, the Blues have been unable to bring in any star signings in the latest transfer window. Perhaps this hindered their ability to promote the kit to a new fan base, and potentially a higher position in this chart.
Most Popular Away Shirt - 19/20 Season
Arsenal
Adidas have reinterpreted Arsenal’s famous 1990’s yellow and blue away shirt design to perfectly suit the modern football fan.
The ‘bruised banana’ attire is currently the 8th most popular kit in England. When taking the dominance of home kits into account, being 8th most popular overall demonstrates how much of a hit this kit is.
Demand for the Arsenal away kit has increased by 105% Y.o.Y.
Top Goalkeeper Shirt - 19/20 Season
Liverpool
Liverpool’s keeper kit is a sleek black shirt, complimented by gold lettering. It’s a far-cry from the regular luminous goalie strips we’re accustomed to.
The jersey is so popular with fans that it’s more in demand than most Premier League Home Shirts, including Everton, Newcastle United and West Ham United’s.
The shirt is worn by Brazilian shot stopper, Alison, and is currently the 11th most popular football shirt in England.
Top Championship Shirt - 19/20 Season
Huddersfield (Home)
This year, Huddersfield shocked football fans by unveiling an Umbro shirt with a ‘Miss Universe’ style sash across the chest.
It turned out to be a PR ploy by sponsors, Paddy Power. Huddersfield later revealed the real kit without a sponsor. The whole campaign was aimed at raising awareness of too many sponsors being added to team jerseys.
However, the PR stunt had a huge impact on the ex-Premiership team’s shirt sales. Demand for the shirt increased by an incredible 1,904%. As a result, Huddersfield’s home shirt went from the 26th most popular in 2018, to 6th hottest shirt this season.
Whether it is football fans wanting it for memorabilia, or people warming to the campaign for no-sponsor football shirts, it has UK football fans talking about Huddersfield. Well played Paddy Power!
Top League One Shirt - 19/20 Season
Sunderland (Home)
Arguably a League One club with a Premier League fan base, Sunderland had another setback last season - losing out on promotion to Charlton Athletic in the play-off final.
Fortunately, spirits seemed to be lifted when they released their new kit design in May 2019.
It’s been a big hit with fans. Demand has doubled since last season’s home jersey. The strip has thick red and white stripes on the front with signature Adidas stripes across the shoulders.
Top League Two Shirt - 19/20 Season
Salford City (Home)
Salford have gained a lot of attention since ex-Manchester United legends took over the club back in 2013.
The Cinderella story of Salford City has caught the attention of English football fans, especially after winning promotion to the football league this season.
The red Kappa kit has a fading check pattern and the club’s lion crest on the front.
Search for the jersey increased by 262% compared to last year’s non-league shirt. It’s currently the 26th most popular home kit of the 2019/20 season.
The Football Shirt League Table 2019/20
Ever wondered which club in England has the most popular jersey.
The LovetheSales.com data team have calculated the demand for the home jersey of each 92 English Football League clubs.
Find out where your club ranks in the definitive ‘Football Shirt League Table’ below.
Historical Trends of Club Shirt Demand 2016-19
We’ve taken a look at the historical popularity of clubs shirts over the last 4 seasons. Find out which rivals are beating each other off the pitch and in the wardrobes.
Liverpool vs Everton
Liverpool’s meteoric rise back to prominence has had a huge uplift in popularity of the red’s kits. The 2018/19 Champions League winning campaign boosted demand for all Liverpool shirts by 76%.
Everton, on the other hand, have struggled to build any positive momentum for their kit sales since the departure of David Moyes back in 2013.
The gap on Merseyside is so significant that Everton would need to increase their shirt sales 10 times over to rival Liverpool.
Liverpool vs Manchester united
Thanks to Alex Ferguson, Liverpool have spent the best part of 30 years in Manchester United’s shadow.
But impressive league form and positive transfer dealings saw Liverpool overtake Manchester United in terms of kit popularity during the 2017/18 season.
Liverpool shirts are now 3 times as popular as Manchester United’s kits.
Manchester United vs Manchester city
The noisy neighbours of Manchester (Manchester City) have been more than just rivals to Manchester United in recent years. City have won 4 league titles in the last decade compared to United’s 2.
The sky blue’s, who are hot favourites to win the Premiership for the third year in a row, are now poised to leap frog Manchester United in kit popularity.
Manchester City has one of the most in demand kits among juniors, their success attracting a new wave of youngsters to the fanbase.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur have all the makings of a successful club, but have yet to secure trophies to back up their league form. This is reflected in the stagnant demand for their replica kits.
Their closest rivals, Arsenal, haven’t had it easy either. Puma have been designing Arsenal’s kits for the last 4 seasons with little increase in popularity. However, as you can see from the graph, the latest Adidas strip (alongside big signings) has fans flocking to buy the new home and away strips.
Arsenal are currently 3 times more popular than Spurs in terms of UK shirt popularity.
West MidlandS Rivalries
There has been a dramatic shift in power of West Midland football clubs in the past decade.
Birmingham City lost Premier League status back in 2011 after winning the League Cup, and have been resigned to the Championship ever since. West Bromwich will spend their second season in the Championship after being relegated from the Premier League in 2017/18.
Wolverhampton Wanderers had an impressive opening campaign in the Premier League and have been rewarded with European football. Increased exposure and attraction of top talent has made Wolves a trendy team to get behind.
However, since winning promotion back to the Premier League, Aston Villa’s new kits are the ones the fans want. Demand surged by 150% this season. The Claret & Blues have spent big over the summer to make sure they don’t repeat the same relegation form of the 2015-16 season.
Sheffield United vs Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield United’s return to the Premier League is a comeback story in its own right. The Blades were in League One just 3 seasons ago.
Demand for Sheffield United shirts have shot up by 119% in the past 3 months and have overtaken Sheffield Wednesday for the most sought after kits in South Yorkshire.
Promoted Teams in 2018/19 season
Success is a game changer for every club in modern football, especially with the rise of social media helping clubs reach more fans.
In the game today, promotion for a club can mean 3 times more shirt sales for the new season.
All club’s winning promotion across League 1, 2 and the National League have had big jumps in demand for their jerseys. It is only MK Dons, who now don an unflattering V neck collar, that have seen a decline in demand for their replica kits.
Data correct as of 05/02/20.
