World Cup tourists go viral for first visits to Buc-ee’s and Walmart. Could brand deals follow?

Creator Playbooks // June 19, 2026 World Cup tourists go viral for first visits to Buc-ee’s and Walmart. Could brand deals follow? By Gabriela Barkho Buc-ee's Shaun Alexander landed on U. S. soil last week, excited to witness his home country of Scotland’s first appearance in the World Cup in 28 years.

What he did not expect was that he would quickly land a partnership for posting about his American food adventures. Alexander, who has nearly 50,000 followers on Instagram, struck a paid social partnership with drive-through chain Sonic to film his first taste test of an American corndog. The partnership didn’t come completely out of nowhere.

Alexander goes by Shaunvlog on his social media pages, and often posts about trying new foods and tourist attractions during his international travels. But even he admits his posts during the World Cup have taken off in a way he didn’t expect.

Over the last few days, his Instagram, X and TikTok accounts have gained tens of thousands of new followers and hundreds of thousands likes, which helped him land the Sonic partnership. “I’d be lying if I said this was all totally planned,” he told Modern Retail.

Alexander is one of a number of visiting creators documenting their impressions of the United States — and its unique retail experiences — while attending the World Cup festivities. Some are showcasing their overwhelming reactions to Walmart’s offerings while others are embarking on the quintessential Target beauty haul.

Even players couldn’t resist the American shopping experience. Spain’s rising star Lamine Yamal stopped at a Georgia Walmart, where he was spotted picking up essentials and snacks. With all the eyeballs on the World Cup’s host country this year, the U. S. retail industry is hoping to experience an influx of foot traffic, along with online engagement.

Restaurants and retail chains are noticing, and some are quickly reaching out to influencers with free merchandise and partnership offers. Alexander, who is traveling alongside his wife, said the onslaught of social media attention and press requests means his day job “has bizarrely been relegated to my side hustle.”

By day, Alexander runs a marketing consultancy, and he calls creating social content a personal hobby. Some of Alexander’s viral travel posts include one highlighting his awe of the ice machines at convenience chain Buc-ee’s. And as a fishing enthusiast, Alexander has since declared Bass Pro Shops as his favorite store.

“I’ve had all kinds of bizarre partnership offers,” Alexander said. For example, he posted about his wife having mild food poisoning on the road. He quickly received partnership requests for companies that offer drop-in IV service. “I get paid partnership offers occasionally, but this [World Cup visit] certainly puts the jet fuel under it,” Alexander said.

Alexander has previously created posts during his trips to the United States, but none have taken off at the same rate as those from this month’s trip. His Instagram posts from 2025, for instance, averaged a few hundred likes. In contrast, some of his most popular posts from the World Cup trip have surpassed 150,000 likes within days.

Like many of the international creators gaining attention, Alexander believes it’s likely due to the wholesome, positive nature of the content, highlighting American culture and hospitality through a fresh set of eyes.

Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, said that, for retail, the World Cup is helpful for boosting sales, both through the sale of related merchandise and from the extra foot traffic in cities hosting the event. “The viral moments where tourists are discovering U. S. stores are an added bonus,” Saunders said.

The content is effectively “free advertising” and is likely to drive some sales from curious travelers. However, Saunders said this virality is not likely to translate to increased revenue. “The longer-term impact is more muted as most of the retailers and products involved are U. S. -focused and don’t always ship products overseas,” he said.

Nonetheless, these viral posts highlight social media’s seemingly endless appetite for watching international tourists discovering new foods and shopping destinations. Some marketing experts say the next few weeks will be ripe for viral moments as millions of people follow along.

Vivien Garnès, CEO of French influencer agency Upfluence, said the World Cup has created massive curiosity around North America, “and audiences enjoy experiencing it through the eyes of first-time visitors.”

That’s because the content often combines multiple high-performing formats at once, Garnès said, such as culture shock, food reviews, travel and “first-time trying” experiences. Everyday experiences consistently outperform traditional tourist attractions, said Garnès. “Think tourists visiting retail stores like Walmart, Costco, Bu