83% of British citizens will not buy Royal Wedding memorabilia this year to commemorate the marriage of Prince William to Kate Middleton.
Research conducted by InvisibleHand, the free online shopping tool, suggests that 22% of the Queen Elizabeth II’s subjects consider Royal Wedding merchandise a “waste of money”. Over one in ten (13%) say that royal souvenirs are a complete rip off while 16% think they are ‘beyond tacky’.
One in ten (12%) Britons feel that the topical souvenirs are “a nice memento of the day” and 8% perceive the items as collectables. A tiny minority of 1% think of royal souvenirs as a family heirloom.
The royal wedding has spawned a plethora of William and Kate related merchandise from biscuit tins and official china through to a one-off PEZ sweet dispenser which was auctioned for £8,200 on eBay and the proceeds donated to one of Prince William’s charities.
All British supermarkets are carrying a variety of flags, mugs and balloons for the occasion which includes a national holiday for British subjects on Friday 29th April 2011. In addition to merchandise, several Commonwealth countries have released new stamps and coins in honour of the occasion.
