London is different – repeat after me – London is different

Some people think the UK is one country. Some people think it is made up of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Both are wrong.

The UK is made up of the London and the rest. Understanding this is vital when thinking about marketing to the 50-plus or any other age group.

A recent report by the BBC made reinforced this point. Whilst the rest of the UK is in a state of collective economic despair , consumer sales in Central London are going up.

The British Retail Consortium said spending in the heart of the capital was up by 8.7% in June 2008 compared to the same month a year previously. In the same period, the national figure fell by 0.4%.

The mood among central London customers is clearly different from the rest of the UK.

Why is there such a difference? Lots of reasons. London, more correctly parts of London, are extremely wealthy. Also, London is young and it would seem that the young are still spending like there is no tomorrow. When the credit crunch really starts to bite this situation could very quickly change.

If you are not convinced about London’s strange behaviour look at this video. Dick Stroud