For the last ten years the Centre for Retail Research has carried out surveys of how significant royal events, such as weddings and births, affect retail spending.
These effects should not be overstated, but the Head of State and her family attract a lot of attention both in the UK and globally.
Most people are prepared to raise a glass, buy a flag or eat a piece of cake in celebration, and for some occasions many (not all) are prepared to travel miles with their children to witness an event in all its pomp and ceremony.
The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle according to Nielsen (CNBC, 2018) drew 29mn viewers in the U.S. alone, starting at 7 am EST. At the more highbrow end, an article on their marriage on The Economist website received more views in a single day than any other in 2018.
Retail businesses, restaurants, pubs, hotels, the tourist industry and companies that produce souvenirs have to take a view about how much celebratory spending there is likely to be.
Our estimates have received widespread coverage all over the world, including CNN, the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, the Canadian National Broadcasting Corporation, Austrian TV, Russia’s Izvestia newspaper, Hello! Magazine, the Evening Standard, Vogue, the Times, the Telegraph, Guardian, Bloomberg, Euronews, Hollywood Reporter, IBTimes, 20 Minuten Online, Wirtualna Polska and (a first for us) La Gazetta della Sport.
Methods
We collect information directly from a weighted sample of retailers as well as a random sample of around 1,200 shoppers who tell our interviewers about what (if anything) they are likely to purchase or spend relating to a particular royal event.
We calculate spending figures using a period of up to three months around the royal event. Certain other organisations simply estimate spending on the day itself. While many celebrations may indeed take place on the day itself or the previous day (for example, hotel bookings), other celebrations may occur later in the month at weekends or even outside the holiday season. The peak for souvenirs may be the days before a royal wedding or birth but others may be sold particularly abroad in the following weeks.
Spending is calculated in terms of the additional event-specific spending on food, groceries and alcohol (celebration meals at home or in the garden [weather permitting!]), celebratory spending at restaurants and pubs, spending on souvenirs and mementos, the spending by crowds (if people are likely to congregate in great numbers) and spending by foreign tourists. Overseas sales of souvenirs, whether cheap ‘tat’ or costly ceramics and jewellery, are another source of revenue for retailers and UK businesses. Online retail spending is included as well as spending in physical shops.
We also include separately indirect sales with royalty as ‘influencers’ over the next year or so. For example the birth of Prince George in 2013 led to immediate sell-outs of the shawl the baby wore, and over the longer-term sales increases for the baby clothing brands, toys, baby carriages and other products and fashions bought for (or associated with) this small child, reflecting world-wide interest in someone who is likely to become King at some future date. The value of these increased sales we estimated to be £146mn for Prince George.
For the child of Harry and Meghan (the Sussex’s) we think that the amount spent on celebrations will be low, but as a fashion influencer we forecast £180mn for the first 12-18 months and an overall total of £1.25bn for the child till they are 18 years.
Celebrations |
Memorabilia |
Newspapers, Books |
Tourists |
Totals |
Fashion Impact* |
|
Queen's Silver Jubilee |
£271 |
£169 |
£28 |
£53 |
£521 |
- |
Wedding: William & Katherine |
£156 |
£134 |
£55 |
£62 |
£407 |
£70 |
Birth of Prince George |
£87 |
£80 |
£76 |
£16 |
£259 |
£145 |
Birth of Princess Charlotte |
£22 |
£28 |
£16 |
- |
£66 |
£80 |
Wedding: Harry & Meghan |
£35 |
£30 |
£10 |
£8 |
£83 |
£45 |
Birth of Prince Louis |
£25 |
£34 |
£15 |
- |
£74 |
£20 |
Birth of Harry & Meghan's baby |
£13 |
£22 |
£11 |
£10 |
£56 |
£180 |
[Figures from Centre for Retail Research]
[All figures in £millions]
*Period of 12-18 months
The wedding was held in April, which tended to reduce the number of street parties. June would have been better.
The additional Bank Holiday meant that most shops were closed, which enabled additional online sales of £90.7mn (17.2% of the extra retail spending) to occur.
The growing interest throughout the world in the first child of William and Katherine, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, had significant implications for retail sales and suppliers. The date of the royal birth has been announced as 13 July 2013. The new baby, male or female, will immediately become third in line to the throne.
The Centre for Retail Research estimated that the birth boosted linked-in retail sales by around £243 million. This figure covered the nine weeks between 1 July 2013 and 31 August.
Festivities |
£87 million |
Souvenirs and toys |
£80 million |
Books, DVDs and Media |
£76 million |
Total |
£243 million |
In the first year, extra spending on the brands purchased for or used by the new prince were equivalent to £145mn-influenced sales, made up of prams and pushchairs, the baby's clothes, its crib, its toys and any product associated with the baby or its parents.
Here’s how many Americans watched Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s royal wedding - read more...(offsite link opens in a new window)