According to a story from today’s Marketing Daily, the average expenditure per wedding was down last year. The article cites research from The Knot. (Click here to read the piece.)
Implications: This story leaves me with more questions than answers. Is the cost-efficiency driver a long-term consumer trend? Or was it just a short-term response to the recession?
My hunch is there’s a little of both. Economic strife is often accompanied by a shift in purchasing priorities. Like spending less when you can… to be sure. But when it comes to some purchases, people sometimes spend a little more, to buy things that will last.
Are weddings impacted by this phenomenon? No… I’m not being a cynic or suggesting that marriages don’t last. I’m just suggesting that weddings themselves are one-time events… and weddings don’t last. I’ve personally observed more than one couple whose weddings we have been involved with in the past year… and frequently heard the attitude, “Let’s put the money into the house,” or, “If we save on the reception, we can start off our marriage with a stronger financial footing.”
Are you seeing this in your business? If you’re a wedding services provider (hotel, officiate, photographer, baker, jeweler or wedding party band), this could impact you. But it could affect you, too, if you sell furniture, home improvements, investments or cars.
Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.
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