Sales of Wrexham merchandise up 600% on back of Disney+ series

Wrexham say a documentary series chronicling the takeover of the club by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney has resulted in a retail boost of 600% that has surpassed all expectations.

Reynolds and McElhenney made headlines after taking 100 per cent ownership of the Welsh club in February 2021.

Welcome to Wrexham – which has been airing on Disney+ in the UK since August 25 – is midway through its first season but has already led to a rush for Wrexham merchandise.

The National League club claim online orders for the period since the series started have hit £290,170, while in-person sales raise that figure to £360,000. The combined receipts for the equivalent period in 2021 were £59,674.

The Dragons have also seen a significant rise in their social media following and expect to surpass a million followers across all accounts before the series is over.

New interest in the club’s story has seen 147,000 followers added in the period since the show started, representing a 19.2 per cent leap.

“There was never any doubt that the interest in club merchandise would increase because of the documentary, but even the most optimistic projections did not reach the above levels,” read a club statement.

Prized

The confirmation comes after a data science team at Pattern, a global e-commerce firm, analysed consumer demand for Wrexham AFC products on Amazon every day of the year so far.

The analysis published on Tuesday found that, on average, daily demand for Wrexham gear spikes 47% each week the day after new episodes drop. Demand for Wrexham football shirts saw the largest boost among all products, with an average increase of 113%.

In terms of popularity, Wrexham home shirts were comfortably the most searched-for item, with club T-shirts in second place – seeing a 64% increase the day after new episodes are released. Wrexham AFC hats were the third most popular item, seeing a 28% increase.

That huge demands has seen sales of club shirts soar, with the new home shirt sold out on the club website, while sales of last season’s home and away shirts, the kits currently featuring in the latest episodes of Welcome To Wrexham, are going for hundreds of pounds on auction website eBay.

An adult 2021/2022 home and away shirt, which would retail for around £45 on the club website is selling for up to five times that amount, with sales of £230 being recorded for both the home and away shirt.

And it’s not just those prized replica kits selling for hundreds, past Wrexham shirts have also been changing hands for an inflated price.

It’s thought this trend will only increase as more viewers from around the globe tune into the hit TV series.

Social media has seen more and more new fans pledging their allegiance to the club who currently lie in second place in the National League.

The latest episodes of Welcome To Wrexham have proved hugely popular, with the series having a high 8.3/10 rating on IMDB, with the latest episode ‘Welcome Home’ being the highest rated at 8.7.