Royal wedding fever sees UK enjoying spending boost

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
May 16, 2018

Saturday’s royal wedding should boost UK spending by £195.5 million overall, according to the latest data from retail specialist Springboard. It said that spending in May leading up to the wedding, as well as ongoing spending after it, will have lifted retail sales by 0.2% over the four-month period to the end of August, while footfall will get a 0.3% boost.

The analysts expect May alone to see an extra £93.1 million being spent across UK high streets, shopping centres and out of town retail parks, with a further £102.4 million spent over the summer months of June, July and August.

Diane Wehrle, Insights Director at Springboard said: “National celebrations have traditionally had a positive impact on both footfall and spending behaviour. Over the period of the Royal Wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, footfall increased by 5% in the week of the wedding, and then by an average of 0.9% over the three months following as shoppers’ spirits were lifted and their purse strings loosened.”

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But while the company is anticipating a rise in sales, it’s also forecasting that this year’s increase will be around a quarter of that it predicted for the previous royal wedding, partly due to the poorer trading conditions the UK is currently seeing. 

However, it still expects the non-food lift, which includes fashion, to reach £48.9 million as a result of the ‘Meghan Effect’. 

With a global spotlight on the UK, direct tourist spend is also set to rise close to £50 million over the coming months and over £41.1 million is set to be spent on wedding-linked merchandise, Springboard added. 

Of course, increased tourist traffic should also see an uplift in fashion spend as key centres like London’s West End are magnets for high-spending tourists.

And the area’s royal warrant holders could benefit in particular with new analysis from the New West End Company showing that the warrants in London’s West End and Mayfair are worth a total of £160 million to the area. 

The longest held warrant is 209 years, which belongs to Savile Row men’s tailor Gieves & Hawkes. The most recently received warrant was given to Thomas Lyte, which specialises in silverware and gifts, in 2015. Burberry is also a royal warrant holder.