This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: Royal Wedding rings a positive impact on the High Street on Sunday.
The Harry and Meghan effect boosts post-wedding footfall on the High Street, but is less marked than the impact of Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding on shopper traffic.
Shoppers shunned the High Street on Saturday in favour of watching the Royal Wedding, data from retail intelligence firm, ShopperTrak, reveals.
With a reported 18million UK viewers tuning in to watch Harry and Meghan's 'Big Day'*, combined with the FA Cup Final also taking place on the same day, footfall on the High Street was down 10.05% on the daily average* on the Saturday 19 May. However, the High Street did benefit from the so called 'Markle Sparkle' on Sunday, with shopper traffic up 3.94% on Sunday 20 May.
"It's fair to say Brits love a good wedding but it seems a Royal Wedding send us into fever pitch – and this can also be seen in the impact of Harry and Meghan's wedding on footfall on the High Street on Saturday, with footfall down 10.05% - one of the lowest performing Saturdays of 2018 so far - but rising again, with the post-Royal Wedding boost on Sunday, with footfall up 3.94%," said Steve Richardson, UK & MEA Director at ShopperTrak. "However, the pre-wedding impact on footfall was less marked than Prince William's marriage to Kate Middleton."
A different trend was seen in the run up to Prince William's and Kate Middleton's 'Big Day' in 2011, which had a significant impact on footfall in the run up to the Royal Wedding, which took place on Friday 29 April.
| Date | Tue 26 April 2011 | Wed 27 April 2011 | Thu 28 April 2011 | Royal Wedding Day Fri 29 April 2011 | Sat 30 April 2011 | Sun 01 May 2011 |
| Footfall (vs the daily average**) | +11.9% | +5.9% | +13.6% | -27% | +1% | -2.6% |
Footfall on the High Street was buoyed in the run up to the event, with the peak days taking place on Tuesday and Thursday, up 11.9% and 13.6% on the daily average respectively, as shoppers made preparations for street parties or to watch the ceremony and celebrations at home.
ShopperTrak's Steve Richardson continued: "With the UK given an extra bank holiday to celebrate the event, the day itself saw UK shopper traffic plummet, down 27% on the daily average, as an estimated global audience of 2billion*** tuned in to watch Kate and Wills tie the knot. In fact, looking across 2011, Kate and Will's wedding day was the lowest performing Friday for footfall of the entire year, showing the significant impact, the event had on shopping behaviours."
* https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/962610/Royal-Wedding-viewing-figures-Meghan-Markle-Prince-Harry-kiss-David-Beckham
** 2011 Royal Wedding analysis compares the Royal Wedding trends to average trends for the year to date (Jan-April 2011).
*** https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/royal-wedding/8484257/Royal-wedding-watched-around-the-world.html
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