---
title: "Decathlon vs Sports Direct: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom?"
description: "Is Decathlon or Sports Direct more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Sports retailers set in the United Kingdom. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time."
canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/decathlon-uk-vs-sports-direct"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Decathlon vs Sports Direct: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom?

Is Decathlon or Sports Direct more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Sports retailers set in the United Kingdom. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

## Key facts

- **Compared**: Decathlon and Sports Direct
- **Competitive set**: Sports retailers
- **Market**: United Kingdom
- **Month measured**: Sep 2026
- **Decathlon Share of Search**: 13.2%
- **Sports Direct Share of Search**: 53.8%

## Is Decathlon or Sports Direct more popular in search?

- In September 2026, Sports Direct had more branded searches than Decathlon among sports retailers in the United Kingdom. Sports Direct had about 3.4 million branded searches, while Decathlon had 823,000. Sports Direct made up 53.8% of all sports retailer searches we track, and Decathlon accounted for 13.2%.
- Sports Direct was ahead of Decathlon in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Decathlon’s share of searches among sports retailers in the United Kingdom moved from 12.2% to 13.2%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 823K.
- Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Sports Direct’s share of searches among sports retailers in the United Kingdom moved from 49.7% to 53.8%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 3.4M.

## Top sports retailers in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In three ChatGPT questions and one Google AI Overview, both Decathlon and Sports Direct showed up in all four answers. Sports Direct was listed before Decathlon in three of them.

Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options.

| Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Sports Direct | 1st | 3 of 3 | 1 of 1 | 4 of 4 |
| Decathlon | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 1 | 4 of 4 |
| JD Sports | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 |
| Foot Locker | 4th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 |
| SportsShoes.com | 5th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 2 of 4 |
| Pro:Direct | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 1 | 0 of 4 |

## Every AI answer about sports retailers

- Asked ChatGPT "Where should I buy trainers and sportswear in the UK?": 1. JD Sports, 2. Sports Direct, 3. Decathlon, 4. Foot Locker, 5. SportsShoes.com
- Asked ChatGPT "What are the best sports shops in the UK?": 1. Decathlon, 2. Sports Direct, 3. JD Sports, 4. Foot Locker
- Asked ChatGPT "Which sports shop in the UK has the best prices on running gear?": 1. Sports Direct, 2. Decathlon, 3. SportsShoes.com
- Searched Google, AI Overview "sportswear": 1. Sports Direct, 2. Decathlon

Not named in any answer: Pro:Direct.

Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United Kingdom on October 22, 2026.

## How did search popularity change for United Kingdom sports retailers in September 2026?

- In September 2026, Sports Direct gained share of searches among sports retailers in the United Kingdom, from 50.1% to 53.8%.
- In September 2026, Decathlon lost share of searches among sports retailers in the United Kingdom, from 14.9% to 13.2%.

## Month by month

| Month | Decathlon estimated searches | Decathlon Share of Search | Decathlon rank | Sports Direct estimated searches | Sports Direct Share of Search | Sports Direct rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | 823K | 12.2% | 3 | 3.4M | 49.7% | 1 |
| Nov 2025 | 1M | 11.3% | 3 | 4.1M | 46.3% | 1 |
| Dec 2025 | 823K | 9.1% | 3 | 4.1M | 45.1% | 1 |
| Jan 2026 | 1M | 15.4% | 3 | 3.4M | 51.6% | 1 |
| Feb 2026 | 823K | 15.6% | 3 | 2.7M | 51.8% | 1 |
| Mar 2026 | 823K | 12.6% | 3 | 3.4M | 51.1% | 1 |
| Apr 2026 | 1M | 14.8% | 3 | 3.4M | 49.4% | 1 |
| May 2026 | 1M | 13.3% | 3 | 4.1M | 54.4% | 1 |
| Jun 2026 | 1M | 13.9% | 3 | 3.4M | 46.7% | 1 |
| Jul 2026 | 1.2M | 17.4% | 3 | 3.4M | 47.8% | 1 |
| Aug 2026 | 1.2M | 14.9% | 3 | 4.1M | 50.1% | 1 |
| Sep 2026 | 823K | 13.2% | 3 | 3.4M | 53.8% | 1 |

## How each brand is measured

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Decathlon’s and Sports Direct’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading.

- **Decathlon**: Measured on the search term “decathlon”.
- **Sports Direct**: Measured on the search term “sports direct”.

- [Decathlon profile](/demand/uk/brands/decathlon-uk)
- [Sports Direct profile](/demand/uk/brands/sports-direct)
- [All sports retailers in the United Kingdom](/demand/uk/categories/uk-sports-retailers): The set both shares are measured inside, 6 brands.

## Methodology

- [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Decathlon or Sports Direct more popular in search?

In September 2026, Sports Direct had more branded searches than Decathlon among sports retailers in the United Kingdom. Sports Direct had about 3.4 million branded searches, while Decathlon had 823,000. Sports Direct made up 53.8% of all sports retailer searches we track, and Decathlon accounted for 13.2%.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Decathlon vs Sports Direct: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/decathlon-uk-vs-sports-direct

This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/decathlon-uk-vs-sports-direct. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.
