Coronation weekend: Brits to splash out an extra £3bn on food, drink and entertainment
Brits are expected to ring in the Coronation of King Charles III this weekend in the time honoured tradition of emptying their wallets faster than usual.
It is predicted consumers will fork out around £8bn over the Coronation bank holiday weekend, with £3.22bn more spent than during a typical May bank holiday.
Of the £3bn plus, £1.76bn will be spent in stores, with £1.17bn splurged on food and drink.
Pubs, bars, restaurants will £1.21bn of the boost, as just under half of Brits plan on celebrating the Coronation, according to VoucherCodes.co.uk.
The loyalty rewards website has compiled the King Charles III Coronation Report. which found the average person is set to spend £87 more over the course of the three days.
Coronation – a Pimms please
Decorations will account for £28m with Brits expected to dig deep, £130m for memorabilia with other Coronation items accounting for £130m .
Over the course of the bank holiday, 35.5 million pints of beer, 5.3 million bottles of wine, 2.4 million bottles of fizz, and 200,000 bottles of the British classic, Pimms will drunk in pubs, bars and restaurants across the UK.
With 2.3 million Brits expected to descend on the capital and another 125,000 visitors coming from abroad to watch the Coronation procession, Britain’s tourism sector is also set for a boost of £0.25bn, or £60 per traveller, as tourists splurge on travel and accommodation for the weekend.
Predicted UK spend across the King Charles III Coronation bank holiday weekend (6th – 8th May)
| Total spend (£bn) | Spend per head (£) | |
| Retail | £1.76 | £87 |
| Hospitality | £1.21 | £69 |
| Tourism and travel | £0.25 | £60 |
Vouchercodes said 25.1 million people in the UK planned to celebrate by either watching the service on TV (15.8m), attending a street party or social gathering (15.7m), or even making the journey to London to see the royal family in-person (3.4m).
Not everyone is quite so enthralled to the event, one-quarter of consumers’ surveyed said they were not interested in celebrating while 15 per cent said they were “extremely unexcited” and would instead spend their weekend shopping, at hospitality venues, on staycations and socialising.
Maureen McDonagh, managing director and senior vice president international at VoucherCodes.co.uk said:” Whilst our research shows that sentiment towards the royals is mixed, the bonus bank holiday for King Charles’ Coronation will undoubtedly lead to a welcome surge in consumer spending for the retail, hospitality and tourism sectors.
“Although not everyone will be celebrating the event directly, many consumers will take advantage of the extra time off work by hitting the high street to shop, and visit restaurants, pubs, and bars.
“However, it’s important for businesses to keep in mind that many consumers are still adapting to the pressures of the current economic climate, and value for money is front of mind. Running discounts, loyalty schemes and customer rewards and promoting them across marketing channels in the run up to Coronation weekend is key for attracting value-conscious customers, and can help you get ahead of competition during what is set to be a lucrative weekend for British business.”