What's with the "Prince George effect" on sales?

by

Sara McGinnis

posted in Celebrities

Prince George is an adorable, completely unaware trendsetter. For reasons I can't quite understand, the son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge has amassed the power to skyrocket sales for lucky companies out there.

The phenomenon, being described as the "Prince George effect," was most recently felt by the Crocs shoe company, who saw a 1,500 percent spike in sales after Prince William and Kate Middleton's firstborn wore a pair of their kicks while his father took part in a charity polo match.

A peek at the gorgeous tot and his newsworthy footwear from that day:

Daniel Silverfield, head of vendor management, footwear and accessories at Amazon.co.uk, spoke to WWD about the Prince George effect, sharing, "Once again, Prince George proves there’s no age limit on being a fashion icon. We’ve seen a 16-fold increase in sales of kids’ Crocband shoes at Amazon.co.uk since the photo of him wearing a pair was released."

It's not just the little one who companies hope will be photographed in their duds, of course. According to E! News Kate's striped shirt from that same outing now has a 2-month waiting list.

I was aware of the copycatting that goes on when one of the royals wears something fancy or makes a fresh fashion statement -- but Crocs? It's not like they're something new! If this were the first time most of the world was being introduced to the lovable shoe I could see the uptick in sales making sense, but it's no mystery these porous wonders are great for kids, so what's with the spike in orders?

I've never once been accused of being fashionable, so perhaps I just don't understand, but I have a hard time imagining a person seeing these photos of Prince George and rushing over to Amazon to order a pair for their own little one. In my mind, a kid either needs a sensible pair of sandals or he doesn't, and the idea of trying to keep up with the royals so my kid could be 'just like George' sounds not only expensive but exhausting.

Can you imagine what it will be like when Princess Charlotte starts toddling about in front of the cameras?

Join the conversation

Have you ever purchased something after seeing a celebrity wear it? What do you think motivates people to do so?

Photos: REX Shutterstock

 

Sweet photos of Prince George's most recent time in the spotlight with his royal family: