Nevermind Kim Kardashian, The Royals are Influencers in the UK
Reading Time: 3 minutes Influencer marketing is all the rage right now. Years ago, it was only celebrities that could cash in on personal sponsorships or endorsements. But social media has changed all that!
Kim Kardashian, mostly known for being a Reality TV “Star” is one of the top influencers in the world right now.
Her rise from semi-obscure actress to reality TV star also included a lot of social media help (and the sex tape didn’t hurt either). Today she has over 56 million followers on Twitter, and she has a tremendous impact on fashion trends globally.
Besides fashion and accessory items she endorses or produces, there are a large number of off-brand products that imitate her style. It is very probable those items sell better than the originals Kim wears.
She might be the most famous social media influencer, but there are many others with 1 to 3 million followers that have a lot of power. Yes, a few of them have become millionaires by the age of 18!
Influencer marketing is real, and it is working for many top brands. Amazon even advertised for influencers this year.
The Royal Family
Here in the U.K., we have another very famous family that has an enormous influence on style, The Royal Family!
When Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, appears in public, her clothing and accessory items sell out immediately. The retail trade has dubbed it the “Kate Middleton Effect.”
There are even websites dedicated to her style, such as What Kate Wore. But she may be passing on the Top Royals Influencer title to her offspring.
According to an article in Hello Magazine!, two-year-old Princess Charlotte and four-year-old Prince George are topping the charts in fashion influencing power.
When pictures of the little ones are released, parents flock to eBay to find the exact fashion items for their kids. If the precise brand items are sold out or too expensive, similar looking items see a jump in sales as well.
During Royal trips, on birthdays, or other significant public events, some fashion items saw up to a 10 fold increase on eBay in searches for “Princess Charlotte” and “Prince George” related items.
“The Royal Family are hugely popular with British buyers with Her Majesty regularly attracting the attention of shoppers. But it’s the youngest generation of royals who really generate the must-have fashion items—and driving a new generation of shopping [behavior] on eBay.”
From Vanity Fair article quoting eBay’s Vice President of trading
Fashion Sellers in the U.K. Take Note!
If you are fashion seller in the U.K., you need to watch the Royal family.
This phenomenon is not new, and while the Duchess of Cambridge may have jump-started the trend again, other millennial-aged family members have plenty of followers. And we assume Queen Elizabeth II hats still move the sales needle a little at hat stores.
Even ensembles worn by Meghan Markle, who is not “yet” engaged to Prince Harry, are seeing sales increases online. It is doubtful that Ms. Markle’s role as Rachel Zane on the hit show Suits ever had her influencing fashion in this way before.
As a seller, regardless if you are selling the exact items or similar looking items, The Royal Family can help your sales. You don’t even have to follow the Tabloid Press. as you can follow The Royal Family on the official website, Facebook Page, Instagram Feed, or Twitter account.
Pay attention to public appearances and move some similar styled products on the front page of your site or boost them on eBay or other marketplaces with a promotion.
Fashion is a tricky business, so any opportunity you can seize to ring up the sales, especially one that is free, will keep you ahead of your competition.
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Dave Furness
Dave is a Co-Founder of eSeller365. For over 10 years he has been involved with eCommerce with a particular interest in the marketplaces and the huge opportunities available for sellers when utilizing a multi-channel strategy. After a year of being the UK’s youngest eCommerce consultant, he built an education platform called UnderstandingE that showed the world how to utilize Magento as the “Third Generation of Multi-Channel software”.
Dave has also created a YouTube channel dedicated to entrepreneurship and eCommerce as well as a podcast dedicated to mental health awareness. When Dave isn’t working his main interests include learning and playing Chess, researching the Crypto and NFT space, and trying to find the nearest beach.