The World Cup hasn't started yet, but Chinese sellers are already experiencing a surge in orders.

From working overtime to the dead of night, AI design, Chinese sellers have been “cranked up” half a year early.

With the schedule released, the World Cup between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico is getting closer, and the tournament atmosphere is growing stronger by the day.

Chinese sellers may have been among the earliest to get involved with the World Cup. As early as last year’s qualifiers, some sellers experienced a round of runaway order surges. At the time, factories worked overtime every day until 2 or 3 a.m., staying busy continuously for half a month, before completing the flood of incoming orders. Now merchants expect a second wave of runaway order surges after the World Cup kicks off, and they must prepare for it several months in advance.

More than 60,000 orders from U.S. customers

Chen Ning (a pseudonym), a jersey seller from Guangdong, has been producing football-related products for 10 years. Its product categories cover all kinds of football sportswear as well as customized football accessories.

Chen Ning told First Financial that most orders usually come from Europe and the U.S. During the World Cup cycle, the customer mix changes. “In the last Qatar World Cup, there were more orders from Asia; this time, orders for the U.S.-Canada-Mexico World Cup mainly come from the Americas.”

The sales cycle for World Cup-related products lasts as long as a year. Chen Ning said that starting in May last year, they received customer orders in stages, and in October last year they reached the first peak. At that time, Chen Ning’s factory worked overtime continuously for half a month; sometimes they needed to work until 2 or 3 a.m. to finish processing that day’s goods.

Chen Ning expects the second peak to begin at the end of this month. As the World Cup group stage begins and gradually rises, it will reach a peak in June. To prepare for the next wave, Chen Ning started early. Since January, Chen Ning has gradually put new products on shelves and cultivated best-sellers. So far, they have generated 15 hot-selling items. He said that nearly all the new hot-selling items include national elements—for example, Brazil-related products use primary yellow with secondary green, and include elements such as the Christ statue that is iconic to Brazil.

The new hot sellers have exceeded expectations. Chen Ning said, “When designing new products with national elements, we actually had concerns, because the audience for products with national elements is almost entirely people from that country, which might reduce the conversion rate. But the results exceeded our expectations—the sales are 10% to 20% better than the original plan.” Chen Ning plans to keep the momentum going, and in April they will launch products featuring elements from European countries.

The schedule for this World Cup has already been released, and the start is getting closer. Chen Ning has also received many large orders. Chen Ning said that one U.S. customer placed orders twice in total, with a quantity exceeding 60,000 units. Among the additional orders, products with a Mexican style account for 70%. Regarding this change, Chen Ning believes there are two reasons: on the one hand, the Mexican market is growing faster; on the other hand, many cities in the U.S. already tend to favor Mexican elements, so ordering related products is a natural fit. In addition, among the additional orders Chen Ning has received recently, many also come from the new products.

Based on Chen Ning’s estimates, compared with the previous World Cup, online channel sales will grow nearly 50% during this World Cup cycle, while offline channel sales will grow about 30%.

Chen Ning said that during the last Qatar World Cup, their factory sales exceeded 60,000 units. Orders for the U.S.-Canada-Mexico World Cup are expected to set a new high, with production planned at 150,000 units of products during this period.

The World Cup is a very important cycle for merchants like Chen Ning. Chen Ning said that although the World Cup may bring explosive growth, from a long-term perspective they hope to achieve steady growth instead, which is more beneficial to merchants’ operating cadence, inventory management, and long-term growth. “After the last World Cup, we continued developing in the Middle East market. We hope that after this one, there will be a clear improvement in the North American and Latin American markets, so that even after the World Cup ends, sales can keep growing year by year.”

Zhang Zhouping, Executive Director of Benxing Think Tank, told First Financial that as the group stage and knockout rounds progress, additional orders targeting underdog teams and teams that advance will surge. Especially around the week of the final, orders may reach a peak. In such large-scale events, one advantage of Chinese sellers is their flexible, fast supply-chain response. Represented by industrial clusters like Yiwu, they can achieve rapid delivery, matching the “fast-response” demand of events like the World Cup. Second, they have digital operations capabilities: Chinese sellers are familiar with the rules and playbooks of major e-commerce platforms, enabling efficient use of multiple channels such as live streaming, short videos, and social media to integrate cross-border marketing and quickly build best-sellers.

AI helps improve efficiency

Chen Xianchun, in charge of trophies and medals at Yiwu Jinzun Awards, introduced to First Financial that during the World Cup cycle, different product categories have different order-to-delivery times.

For example, trophies—large-volume items with high air freight costs—were placed by customers gradually last year. Sellers shipped them in a concentrated batch before the Chinese New Year, and recently the number of trophy orders has declined. As for small items and accessory products such as keychains and badges that are easier to ship by air, they are still receiving orders continuously, and they have also received many repeat customers’ additional orders. At present, orders for keychains, badges, refrigerator magnets, and other products are relatively abundant, and they are mainly based on elements such as the Golden Ball trophy (Jabulani trophy) and the like. Chen Xianchun expects that when the World Cup starts, these accessory products will see a new round of small order peaks. Currently, the team is preparing for future orders, including early design and sample-making, and ongoing communication with customers. Once the schedule enters the Top 4 stage, the team will prepare with even more targeted focus.

Chen Xianchun also said that order growth for the U.S.-Canada-Mexico World Cup is obvious. By channel, offline channels have grown by 30% compared with the last World Cup, while online channels have grown by about 60%. Many repeat customers choose to place orders directly online, and some new customers even fly to Yiwu specifically to discuss.

“The advantage of ‘Made in Yiwu’ is expanding.” Chen Xianchun said that from a horizontal comparison, Chinese sellers have advantages in product packaging and functional design, and competition is also pushing merchants to improve. When it comes to why merchants choose Chinese sellers, Chen Xianchun believes there are mainly two reasons: first, many merchants, including herself, have been in the business for years. “When customers place orders, they not only consider price; they also need to consider quality, product standards, and delivery timelines.” On these aspects, Chinese sellers already have mature operating systems. In addition, many customers need advice during product development, and Chinese sellers will make recommendations to customers based on industry experience.

Chinese-made sports and related products are becoming increasingly popular. Data released by the China Sports Goods Industry Federation shows that in 2025, backed by a strong industrial foundation, clear product competitiveness, and robust supply-chain advantages, China’s sports goods industry managed to withstand various pressures and achieved exports of $28.163 billion for the full year, with foreign trade results exceeding expectations. Statistics from Yiwu Customs show that in the first seven months of 2025, Yiwu’s exports of sports goods and equipment totaled RMB 6.78 billion, up 16.8% year over year. Of that, exports to the three World Cup host countries—the U.S., Canada, and Mexico—amounted to RMB 1.88 billion, up 10% year over year.

Zhang Zhouping believes that Chinese sellers have a strong and complete supply-chain network, enabling efficient large-scale manufacturing and low-cost production, while also having agility in product iteration and customization. In addition, years of experience in foreign trade enable sellers to flexibly handle multiple types of orders, continuously strengthening international competitiveness.

AI is also being applied more and more to merchants’ work. Chen Xianchun revealed that AI improves the team’s efficiency in product design, customer communication, and value proposition extraction. For example, in the design stage, AI can be used for preliminary market research, saving time and cost; and when designers lack inspiration, AI can also provide inspiration.

Chen Ning’s team has also used multiple AI tools to improve work efficiency. “We’ve been using AI tools for a long time. We mainly use features such as creating product linkages, AI drawing, and AI translation. In our industry, merchants basically use these features. If you don’t use them, you’ll be eliminated.”

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Responsible editor: Shi Xiu zhen SF183