Celebrities influence spending, Willoughby and Beckham are top - Zopa report

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Mar 18, 2019

Celebrities are a huge influence on spending in the UK and Britons spend around £6 billion a year as a direct result of their desire to tap into celebrity lifestyles, a new report claims.

That figure was arrived at as a result of a survey by finance company Zopa, which spoke to 2,000 people and came to the conclusion that around a quarter of adults in the UK are influenced to spend by celebrities, with £517 of their annual spending having a celeb link.

And Instagram is the most influential social media channel through which celeb inspiration is sought.

In terms of the celebrities that have the most impact, Holly Willoughby is the biggest female influencer, which is good news for M&S as the retailer has been using her as the face of its brand since last year. 

And for men, David Beckham tops the list, which could provide a big boost for his L’Oréal-linked men’s beauty line House 99, as well as his own Kent & Curwen label and brands that he endorses such as Adidas.

This is Money reported that the survey saw almost a fifth of Britons admitting to buying an item once a fortnight that they’ve seen somebody famous either wearing or using.

Other influential female celebs are Rihanna in second place and the Duchess of Cambridge (Kate Middleton) third, while Bradley Cooper and George Clooney were second and third on the men’s list.

Also on the women’s list are the Kardashians, Kate Moss, the Duchess of Sussex (Meghan Markle), Taylor Swift, Victoria Beckham and Emma Watson.

Other influential men are Cristiano Ronaldo, Kanye West, Ryan Gosling, David Gandy, Justin Bieber and Harry Styles.

The top items impacted by this group are ‘gadgets’, with annual spend of £130 per person. But clothing is second on £125, and beauty is key too - haircare, perfumes, and general beauty products are all areas boosted by celebrity endorsement, as are shoes, bags and jewellery.

Women are more likely than men to be swayed by a celeb link (25% of them), but men aren’t far behind on 22%, and men are also more likely to spend a higher amount than women. The young are also more susceptible to a celebrity plug with 57% of those aged 18 to 24 having bought something for that reason in the last year. That number falls to a third for those aged 25 to 34 while at the top end of the age range (the over-55s), it’s only 10%.