Bobby Mahomed’s Ottawa sportswear shop may be 455 kilometres from the Toronto Blue Jays’ home plate but sales linked to the team are so brisk, you’d think the business was right next store.
In the months since the Jays made it into the playoffs, Game On! at the St Laurent Shopping Centre has seen caps, jerseys, T-shirts and just about anything bearing the team’s logo fly off shelves.
Demand has been so steep some items, like the hats the team wore when it won the American League Championship Series, were gone within hours. Stock of other merchandise such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. jerseys was down to just kids’ sizes Friday, despite Game On! getting daily shipments of new products.
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“Usually, Jays in October merchandise is so-so because they’re usually not in the playoffs, but this year obviously is a different year altogether,” Mahomed said in an interview hours before the team was due to play its opening match in the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“All year they’ve been doing very well, so I can see our Jay’s merchandise numbers much, much higher, maybe 300 per cent, if not more than previous years.”
His shop’s experience is no anomaly. Across Canada, business is booming for retailers of all stripes selling merchandise related to the Jays.
Demand is perhaps the highest at the Jays Shop at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, where fans have lined up for hours in hopes of snagging coveted merchandise emblazoned with “World Series.”
Others have been scouring athleticwear and memorabilia shops or online marketplaces for gems like the white-panelled Jays hats the team wore when it beat the Atlanta Braves in six games to win its first World Series championship in 1992.
Shopify Inc. said companies using its e-commerce software have seen sales of jerseys linked to the team increase by more than 283 per cent between the first three weeks of September and the first three of October.
The Canadian tech company’s merchants also saw a 235 per cent rise in purchases of Jays baseball caps.
Over at Square, sales of Jays merchandise were up 16 per cent year-over-year in September.
The business behind payment terminals and related software says it’s found fans are buying nearly two Jays items per order at stores selling merchandise connected to the team.
The numbers contribute to a phenomenon Karisa Marra, head of sales at Square Canada, likes to call the “Blue Jays effect.”
“This has been a winning season not only for the team, but for Toronto businesses too,” she said in a statement.
Many of them were still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and an increase in inflation, when the tariff war materialized earlier this year. Ever since, it’s threatened to curtail consumer spending.
The Jays’ unexpected playoff run, however, is helping companies better cope with that risk.
And it’s not just merchandise sellers benefiting. Sports bars and other restaurants are seeing a pre-holiday season boost as people pack their venues to watch Jays games.
Moneris, a payments solutions business, said dining establishments near the Rogers Centre saw a six per cent rise in transaction volumes and a one per cent rise in transaction size during game one of the American League Division Series, when compared with regular season benchmarks.
During Game 2, volumes were up 11 per cent and in game three, transaction sizes jumped nine per cent.
By the time Game 4 hit, restaurants by the stadium were experiencing a 15 per cent increase in volumes and 11 per cent rise in transaction sizes.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2025.
