After a tumultuous year in which weddings have been curtailed, postponed and cancelled, optimism amongst UK wedding guests is increasing with greater numbers of ceremonies and receptions set to take place in the second half of 2021.
New research1 from American Express (NYSE: AXP) reveals that British wedding-goers are treating themselves to new outfits and beauty products to mark the special occasion, according to the information shared with Finbold.
Fashion and beauty top the bill
As lockdown restrictions are set to fully end in England and further ease in Scotland on July 19, enabling greater numbers of guests to attend a UK wedding, research showed that Brits will spend an average of £130 on new outfits to attend weddings in 2021, equating to £2.1 billion2 across the UK as a whole.
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It was also revealed that wedding goers this year will spend an average of £84 on hair, beauty and grooming for the occasion, equating to £1.3 billion3 across the population.
The high spend on fashion and beauty is reflective of the increased anticipation amongst Brits attending weddings in 2021, after a disruptive year for wedding planners, brides, grooms and guests due to Covid-19 enforced restrictions on ceremonies and receptions. Approximately 6 in 10 (61%) UK wedding guests who have or will be attending a wedding this year have experienced a wedding being postponed due to the pandemic.
A third to spend more compared to before Covid-19
Greater excitement and gratitude amongst wedding-goers in the UK has led to nearly a third (31%) of guests planning to spend more this year compared to before the pandemic. Furthermore, with many spending long periods apart from friends and family over the last year, 62% said they are happy to spend more celebrating with their loved ones since lockdown restrictions started to ease.
The methodology:
1Omnibus research was conducted by Opinium, 2,000 nationally representative adults were surveyed between 14th May and 18th May 2021.
2 In a nationally representative survey of 2000 UK adults, 621 said they have or will be attending a wedding this year. 621 / 2000 * 52673 000 = 16,354,967 or 16.4 million. On average wedding guests are spending £130 on new outfits when attending weddings this year. 16,354,967 * £130 = £2,126,145,710 or £2.1 billion.
3 In a nationally representative survey of 2000 UK adults, 621 said they have or will be attending a wedding this year. 621 / 2000 * 52673 000 = 16,354,967 or 16.4 billion. On average wedding guests are spending £84 on hair / beauty / grooming when attending weddings this year. 16,354,967 * £84 = £1,373,817,228 or £1.3 billion.
4 Survey takers were able to select multiple answers.
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