The UK Gay Market has long been a top target for companies. It is also a very diverse market and government estimates put the number of gays and lesbians at 3.6 million people and a 2005 study from leading bank Barclays puts the combined annual income at £120 Billion.[i]
The Out Now 2008 Millivres Gay Market Study revealed the following values for total annual spend by gay consumers on various product categories.
- Dining out £5.8bn
- Beer and spirits £3.4bn
- Clothes £3.2bn
- Electronics/computers £3.0bn
- Home furnishings £2.9bn
- Bottled wine £2.2bn
- Mobile phone bills £1.8bn
- Takeaway food £1.8bn
- Footwear £1.6bn
- Fragrance/toiletries £1.2bn
- DVDs £1.2bn
- Home phone bills £1.1bn
- CDs £1.1bn
- Hairdressing £1.1bn
- Books £1.1bn
- Champagne £1.0bn
- Concert tickets £1.0bn
- Skincare products £930 million
- Designer underwear £904 million
- Hair-styling products £701 million
- Grooming, facials, waxing £607 million
- Alternative health £486 million
- Music downloads £401 million
The Gay & Lesbian community is predominately centred in the principal locations of London, Manchester, Brighton & Birmingham. With lively bar and club scenes across the country covering most tastes including the world famous Heaven, Midlands powerhouse Nightingale in Birmingham, Manchester’s Canal Street and annual special mega-events such as Hustlaball, Mardi Gras & Prides all over the UK.
[i] Guardian Newspaper 2005 http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/dec/11/gayrights.immigrationpolicy