How to Trade Around Streaming Releases and TV Events

Sporting events, film and TV releases, royal weddings, awards shows, music festivals and beyond: these events regularly get many millions of viewers, meaning people where you are stock up, order in, sometimes decorate, and purchase merch in preparation for the big show.

Some business owners get frustrated at this: hospitality businesses want people out and about, and retailers see people fixed on an event that might feel totally irrelevant to what they offer, expecting lower footfall and sales. But they don’t need to be downcast. With the right mindset and a cunning plan, trading around big streaming releases and TV events can ensure you make the most out of each day of trade, regardless of what’s happening on Netflix!

Today, we’ll cover:

• What big TV moments mean to businesses

• How to know which events will matter to your business

• Taking advantage of streaming releases in retail

• Taking advantage of streaming releases in hospitality

• How to fine-tune your streaming event planning into a system you can rely on

Once we’re done here, you’ll know when to tweak your trading around big TV moments, and when to let the ship sail, as well as knowing how to make the most of every opportunity these events offer. So let’s get straight into it!

What big TV moments mean to businesses

When the nation gathers round the screen, it rarely does so empty-handed. During the Euro 2024 football tournament, supermarket beer sales rose by an average of 13% in England on days when England's men played, while no- and low-alcohol beer climbed 38% on matchdays. Pubs fared even better: during the final, drinks sales in pubs were up 90% against the same period in 2023, with the average pub pouring 462 pints of draught beer and cider for roughly £950 in extra revenue. And the spending didn't stop at food and drink. Reuters reported that Asda sold more than 20,000 large-screen TVs over the tournament, while JD Sports saw England merchandise sales rise over six-fold for the semi-final, showing that spending rises across industries to those selling the right products.

The flip side is that attention (and wallets) go somewhere specific, and not every business is positioned to take advantage. On the weekend of the final of the Euro tournament, MRI Software found that while high streets got busier, retail parks and shopping centres saw significant Sunday drops of 9.4% and 5% respectively. The pattern from 2024 reoccurred at the global football tournament in 2026: on the day of England's semi-final, footfall across UK retail destinations was still 2.3% lower year on year, with the real boost only arriving after midnight. Spending also shifts rather than grows. In the first week of Euro 2016, while lager sales were surging, wine sales were falling 2.7%, a £2.6m loss compared with the previous weeks. Even trading hours can shrink, like when Tesco closed more than 1,800 Express stores across England early on the Sunday of the final so staff could watch, which helped them compensate for the loss they’d see in trade while people were at home glued to their screens.

How to know which events will matter to your business

Not every big TV moment will touch your takings. After all, new releases are constantly coming out on streaming platforms. Some that sound like a big deal may not matter too much, while others that seem irrelevant might hit harder than you'd expect. Before you plan anything, it's worth working out what would happen if you simply carried on as normal.

Look back at your own sales data

Your best predictor is your own history. Pull up your POS reports from similar event nights. Thinking about Strictly Come Dancing? See what happened last year. The same is true for Eurovision or a big Netflix season drop, and compare them with an ordinary day the week before. Look beyond total takings at transaction times, average spend, and which products moved. A quiet 8pm followed by a late rush tells a very different story to a flat evening, and those two nights have very different staffing requirements. If you don't have much history to go on, start now: note upcoming events in your calendar so you have something to compare against next time.

Get to know who your customers are

A Love Island finale means little to a hardware shop with a mostly retired clientele, but it could empty a cocktail bar of its regular 20-somethings. Think about the age, interests and habits of your core customers. Not sure how they feel? Start a few conversations and figure out whether they're likely to be glued to the sofa, heading out to watch with friends, or completely unaware the event is happening. And don't forget the people who aren't watching. A night when half the country is indoors can be a golden opportunity to win over those desperate for something else to do.

Consider how the event is watched

Timing and format matter. A live Saturday-night finale pulls everyone in at once, while a full series dropped on a streaming platform tends to spread viewing (and any dips in trade) across several days, cushioning and potentially hiding any positive or negative impact on trade. Daytime events can affect lunch trade and shopping hours; evening ones hit dinner service and late opening; therefore, if your best hours clash with the event, your business will be more vulnerable to its effects.

Other useful avenues include:

• TV schedules and streaming platforms' "coming soon" pages

• Checking Google Trends to see how much buzz a show is generating

• Social media chatter and local community groups

• Your booking system, for unusual gaps or spikes in reservations (If you’re in hospitality)

Taking advantage of streaming releases in retail

Big TV moments don't have to mean empty aisles for your business. With a little forward planning, retailers can turn a night in into a reason to shop that day.

Tweak your product lines

Think about what viewers want on the sofa beside them. Convenience stores and off-licences can stock up on snacks, sharing bags and drinks ahead of a big finale, but even if your business specialises in a different industry, stocking up on impulse snack purchases at your checkout can bring you an extra sale. Specialist retailers can ride a show's influence on the shelves, too: Bookshops can bring forward the novel a new drama is based on, kitchen shops can push baking kits during Bake Off season, and fashion boutiques can lean into styles from a buzzy period drama. Keep orders sensible, though, as hype can fade quickly once the credits roll, leaving you with stock you’ll find hard to move.

Make the most of displays and promotions

Give fans a reason to stop. A themed window, a "watch party essentials" table or a bundle deal (think drinks, snacks and a sharing dessert for one price) makes it easy for customers to grab everything in one go. Time promotions for the days leading up to the event, when people are planning, rather than on the night itself.

Shout about it

No matter how far removed a show is from your store, you can always use social media to join the conversation around a show. Light-hearted posts, countdowns, or a poll on who'll win can keep your brand front of mind even if you can’t capitalise directly; just make sure you avoid spoilers! If you’re selling merch, running an in-store event, or just have a shop full of snacks, marketing materials that jump on the hype about the show or event can often gain extra interest that transfers some of that energy to your business.

Rethink your opening hours

If your data shows trade drops off as a show airs, consider closing a little earlier or shifting hours to catch the pre-show rush. On the other hand, if you're one of the few shops open late, staying open could make you the go-to for last-minute supplies or mid-show stock-ups. Nevertheless, if the data tracks, and the event is big enough, like a royal wedding, funeral, or once in a lifetime event, don’t be afraid to adjust your trading hours. However, be sure the gravity of the event matches the gravity of this response. Changing your hours for an event some of your customers don’t even know about could make your business seem unreliable.

Staff to match demand

Extra hands pre- and post- show can keep your checkouts braced for any rushes, but having extra staff in while the event is on can mean under-utilised hours. However, you can use quieter spells for restocking, cleaning or training, so lower footfall still means productive time if you plan for it. On the other hand, you could leave a gap between a change in shifts by having some staff leave when the event starts and only having their replacements begin at the end of the show.

Taking advantage of streaming releases in hospitality

For pubs, bars, cafés and restaurants, big TV moments can feel like competition. But with the right approach, you can give people a reason to watch with you rather than from the sofa.

Host a watch party

Shared viewing is half the fun, so make your venue the best possible place to do it! Make sure everyone can see and hear clearly, set aside a dedicated area (if your venue is spacious enough, the event doesn’t have to dominate your whole venue), and consider taking bookings or selling tickets so you can gauge numbers in advance. Little extras like show bingo, prediction cards, or a prize for best fancy dress (Eurovision is perfect for this) turn a screening into an event. Before you plan anything, check your licensing: most streaming subscriptions are for personal use only, so screening content from them in a commercial venue may not be permitted. But with the right licenses, many shows can be aired publicly.

Create a themed menu

A few show-inspired specials go a long way. Think a signature cocktail named after a contestant, a sharing platter for finale night, or a Bake Off-style showstopper on the dessert menu. Sharing dishes and set-price bundles work especially well, as they're easy to serve during the busiest moments and encourage groups to order more.

Promote it early

Start talking about your event a couple of weeks out on social media, in-venue posters and your mailing list. Fans plan their big nights in advance, so let them know they can watch the event at your venue early enough that they make their plans around you, giving them time to book a table and round up their friends and family.

Adjust your opening hours

If you're hosting, you might open earlier for pre-show food and drinks or stay open later for post-finale chat. If you're not, look at your data. A quieter evening might mean trimming hours, or leaning into takeaway and delivery deals for viewers staying in. Either way, the biggest events are exceptional enough that if your regulars will be doing things differently, it’s okay for you to mix things up, too!

Staff for the rhythm of the night

Event nights rarely run at a steady pace. Expect a rush before the show starts, during ad breaks and after it ends, with lulls in between. Schedule extra staff for those peaks and encourage table orders ahead of key moments to keep service smooth. Whatever you do, choose carefully when to check on people watching the event to not interrupt the experience.

How to fine-tune your streaming event planning into a system you can rely on

• Assess your POS data after each event. Compare takings, transaction times and best-selling products with a normal day and similar events to see exactly what worked, what didn't, and where money was left on the table.

• Figure out which events matter to your business. Over time, you'll spot which shows bring customers in, which keep them at home, and which make no difference at all, so you can focus your efforts accordingly.

• Build an events calendar. Note upcoming finales, premieres and streaming drops alongside what you did last time, so planning starts weeks ahead rather than the day before.

• Gather customer feedback. Ask regulars what they enjoyed, run a quick social poll or check online reviews. Customers will often tell you exactly what would bring them back, which can make everything much simpler!

• Debrief with your team. Staff learn things you might not. For example, your team on the ground will be the first to notice bottlenecks at the bar or products customers asked for but couldn't find.

• Refine and repeat. Keep what worked, drop what didn't, and try one new idea each time. Small tweaks soon add up to a reliable playbook!

TV events: customer thieves that can become true blessings

Big TV moments and streaming releases change how and where people spend, but a simple plan with a few straightforward steps can protect and even grow your business, no matter your industry. Use your sales data and knowledge of your customers to spot which events matter, then adjust your stock, menus, opening hours, staffing and marketing to match. Review each event afterwards, and you'll soon have a system for navigating big TV moments that will get you through each time.

An Epos Now POS system makes all of this easier. Built with real-time reporting on staff, customers, sales, margin and stock, and all data accessible from any device, an Epos Now system for retail or hospitality shows exactly how each event affects trade, while integrations for bookings, delivery, loyalty, marketing, and more help you act on what you learn.