Yihaodian.com, a leading Chinese online supermarket in which the US retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc has a stake, has also joined the fray. Its partnership with Jiuxian.com, an e-seller of wines, has won it a competitive edge in online alcohol sales.

The website also has attracted customers by interacting with buyers via micro blogs and video-sharing sites, and is considering night food deliveries to meet soaring demand during the month-long soccer event.

That's the score

China scores World Cup goal with its products

But not just beer is being consumed. As fans around the world celebrate the championship in a great global party, e-commerce retailers are doing a roaring trade in colorful national flags, kits and trophies.

"Brazilian jerseys are selling like hot cakes these days," said Chen Zhiyu, an online vendor on Taobao. His rosy viewpoint dates back to the 2012 tournament, when each time he replenished his stock, it was sold out the next morning.

"Apart from Brazil, kits for Spain, Germany, Netherlands and England will also be sought-after items," he said.

The term "World Cup" was firmly on Taobao's list of hot topics on Monday, with the search term showing up more than 20,000 times, up 51.4 percent from a week earlier.

Businesses are hoping that the phenomenon can boost online sales of virtually everything, from electronics to sporting goods to imported food.

Appliance retailers like Suning and Gome are using soccer frenzy to promote TV sets and electronic gadgets as people count down the days until the World Cup matches begin.

An online pre-order notice is posted on the website of Suning, which offers a set of Philips sound boxes for just 1,099 yuan and comes with a package of discount coupons.

"I'm definitely going for a pair of earphones online," said Dai Qiming, a soccer fan in Shanghai. But he added: "They'd better be those home-delivered ones so I don't have to leave home before the game starts."

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