VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Canadian gold medals in the Vancouver translated into brisk business for merchants in the Olympic host city, except when consumers were too busy watching hockey, according to data released on Thursday.
Retail spending in Vancouver more than doubled the day skier Alexandre Bilodeau won Canada's first gold of the Games and jumped again when Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir won ice dancing, said credit card processor Moneris Solutions.
Spending in Vancouver and Whistler on items ranging from clothing to beer was 48 percent higher during the February 12 to 28 competition than it was the same period a year earlier, according to Canada's largest card transaction processor.
An exception came on the final Sunday when Canada's men's ice hockey team was on the ice winning gold against the United States. Sales dropped 41 percent compared with the same time slot in the five days leading up to it, the company said.
Canadians accounted for about 78 percent of the Olympic-spurred transactions during the Games, with the rest coming from international visitors to Vancouver and Whistler.
Chinese spent the most per transaction for the foreign visitors, with an average bill of C$423, while Russians were second with C$236. Russia will host the next Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Visa Inc, which has a sponsorship deal with Olympics organizers, estimated that its international card holders spent US$115.3 million in the host province of British Columbia during the 17 day event.
(Reporting by Allan Dowd; Editing by Frank McGurty)
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