Wedding Industry Hit by Recession?
Wedding Industry Hit by Recession?
I’m being asked this question at least once every day at the moment and whilst no one will know the answer for sure for some time yet, I can give a very good indication of what will happen over the next twelve months and further into the future.
The simple answer is yes, the wedding industry will be hit by the recession there is no getting away from it. I know many so called industry experts who have said that the wedding industry is immune to recession as people will always get married and while that is true, there is no doubt in my mind that, although some, maybe most, people will still be tying the knot, they certainly won’t be spending as much money as Brides in years preceeding - they literally won’t be able to.
The main factors that will effect the industry are as follows:
Unemployment
There are massive redundancies taking place in just about every industry in the country and this will have a knock on effect in the wedding industry, with Brides, Grooms and, maybe more directly, Brides Fathers being affected and therefore unable to make the financial outlays in line with the current average spend within the market.
Depreciating House Prices
In the past, when Brides have had to fund their own dream wedding, one of the first port of call to raise the finance has been a remortgage to release some of the equity that has built up in their property. While there may still be some people who can still venture down this route, for the majority it will be much, much harder.
Credit Crunch
This is really a continuation of the above point. Where Brides have had to fund their own weddings in the past, loans and other forms of credit have been a large part of planning their dream wedding and with this credit being harder to come by, their ability to spend is going to be limited.
General Financial Uncertainty
Any recession brings general underlying financial uncertainty and an unwillingness to make large financial commitments, and while there may be a number of brides who are already financially committed or will still make the commitment in the future, there will be a large number who will choose to wait until there is more security in the economy.
So what does this mean for businesses working in the induustry, is it all doom and gloom or is there light at the end of the tunnel?
The answer to these questions will depend very much on your own state of mind and your attitude towards your business and customers. I can’t stand here and lie to you and tell you everything will be fine for everyone because it won’t, but what I can say is there are some businesses out there who won’t just survive through these tough times, but will actually thrive as a result.
The way I see it is that a recession is a natural righting of order which will strip out the dead wood from the industry leaving the entire industry stronger as a result.
If you want to survive this downturn then you have to address certain aspects of your business and ensure that they are watertight - if they’re not it could be you making way for your competitors to thrive.
For a recession health check on your wedding business visit our Wedding Marketing Consultation page and fill in your details.
