In total, the Royal nuptials are set to provide a £527.1 million boost for UK retail sales

• The wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton is expected to provide a £527.1 million boost for UK retailers, with 4 million people in the UK expected to mark the occasion in some way ^[1]
• The Government’s decision to declare Friday 29^th April a bank holiday is expected to make up more than a fifth of the overall figure at £110 million, equivalent to a spend of £4.6 million per hour on the day
• Food and drink will account for the highest expenditure at £198.1 million (38%), of this it is estimated that £109.8 million will be spent on food and £76.5 million on alcohol, including £9 million on half a million bottles of champagne
• Sales of souvenirs, memorabilia and wedding related merchandise (excluding food) are expected to generate £157.5 million, including the sale of 5 million commemorative coins (£24.9 million), 3.5 million mugs and pottery products (£24 million), and replica jewellery worth an estimated £10 million
• Tourist numbers are anticipated to rise by 360,000 this spring, with visitors spending an average of £171 per person on shopping, generating an additional £61.5 million in retail sales

London, 15^th March 2011. As the nation gets ready to celebrate the Royal wedding next month, new figures from Kelkoo, produced by the Centre for Retail Research (CRR), reveal that William and Kate’s big day will provide a boost to the UK economy worth an estimated £527.1 million. The Government’s decision to make Friday 29^th April a public holiday is expected to generate a fifth of the overall spend for UK retailers at £110 million, the equivalent of £4.6 million spent every hour.

With 4 million people in the UK expected to mark the occasion in some way, the marriage is anticipated to be a lucrative event for retailers. At £198.1 million, celebratory food and drink is forecast to represent over one third of the additional retail expenditure (38%), followed by memorabilia and souvenirs at £157.5 million, and £61.5 million in tourist spending.

Just over 30 years ago, Charles and Diana’s wedding is thought to have cost more than £30 million^[2], and generated £680 million in retail sales, the equivalent of £2.04 billion in today’s money. More than 600,000 people gathered in London and 750 million people watched it on TV across the world. Although this Royal wedding is not going to be on the same scale, the Royal family and the government are still treating the wedding as a major occasion.

Celebration Spending, Royal Wedding Merchandise & Tourism

Households across the nation are expected to join in the celebrations, spending an additional £198.1 million on celebratory food and drink. Of this total, it is anticipated that £109.8 million will be spent on food and £76.5 million on alcohol, with half a million bottles of champagne alone being consumed at a cost of £9 million.

A Royal occasion such as this cannot be expected to pass without the usual range of souvenirs and memorabilia being created to mark the event. Total spending on merchandise is expected to reach £157.5 million (excluding food related items). By far the biggest sellers are expected to be souvenirs including tea towels, tea caddies, trays, models and flags, with sales expected to be worth £26.9 million. Sales of commemorative books, biographies and albums, are anticipated to generate sales of around 1.5 million units worth £22.5 million. The report also predicts that 5 million coins, medallions and tokens will be sold at a value of £24.9 million, and that sales of stationery and pens will reach £9.2 million. In addition, around 3.5 million mugs and pottery products – from individual items to dinner services and costly mementoes – will be sold with a retail value of £24 million, while those of replica and souvenir jewellery could reach £10 million.

The impact of the wedding will not just be limited to domestic spending. An additional 360,000 overseas visitors are expected to travel to the UK especially for the Royal wedding, boosting retail spending by £61.5 million, and spending an average of £171 each.

Online spending

Of the additional £527.1 million in retail spending that the Royal wedding is anticipated to generate, £90.7 million (17.2%) will be carried out online. In fact, over 30% or £33.4 million of Royal wedding merchandise (souvenirs and memorabilia) will be bought online.

Chris Simpson, Marketing Director Kelkoo comments: “With just over a month to go until the Royal wedding, people across the UK are starting to plan how to celebrate William and Kate’s big day.  Whether it’s a special trip to London, royal wedding parties at home, street celebrations or shoppers simply making the most of the extra leisure time, 4 million consumers will mark the occasion in some way. The inevitable by-product of this will be an increase in retail spending, with tourists alone generating an additional £61.5 million in UK retail sales.  With the many challenges that 2011 is anticipated to bring for retailers, the £527.1 million boost that the Royal wedding is expected to deliver will undoubtedly provide some welcome relief.”

For further information please visit Kelkoo.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

1. Research carried out by the Centre for Retail Research on Wednesday 9th March 2011

2. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/16/Royal-wedding-bill-cost