TV shows likes The Great British Bake Off continue to hold sway over shopping lists. We look at the programmes that have sparked spending.

1. The Great British Bake Off

Who’d have thought a show about baking would whet the nations’ appetite so much? Now on to its sixth series, the show – fronted by Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood – has become a winner for retailers with sales of baking items rising every time the show returns to our screens.

Bake off

Bake off

John Lewis has said the series has helped boost sales of food mixers while sales of baking trays at Waitrose surged 881% in the last week of July – just before this year’s series kicked off – while sales of bakeware increased 55%. Argos has also said it has benefited from the popular TV show.

2. Saturday Kitchen 

The BBC show, hosted by James Martin, helped Majestic report its the busiest hour in its website’s history last month, when wine presenter Susie Barrie and Martin recommended a Portuguese red wine (Porta 6 2012 – a Tinta Roriz, Castelão, Touriga Nacional blend from Lisbon) from the wine specialist. 

The volume of traffic caused the Majestic website to crash briefly at 11am on the day of the show. Once back up and running, Majestic went on take nearly 1000 orders by midday and sold out of the Porta 6 within three hours of the show and collected reservations for 30,000 bottles over the weekend. Wine connoisseurs needn’t worry – the wine is back in stock.

3. Downtown Abbey

The period drama proved to be a winner for retailers as well as ITV. Dunelm has said the programme helped sales, with its Annabelle furniture range proving popular with customers as they look to replicate the fancy Downton home.

Meanwhile John Lewis gave a nod to Downtown in its Christmas trading update when it said Christmas Day orders were up 19% with sales peaking at 9pm as customers shopped from their mobile while watching the programme on the TV.

Argos said it had launched a range of Downton-inspired lines including the Argyll armchair and Sherbourne sofa, which had proved popular with customers.

4. Changing Rooms

Is this the show that created a nation of DIY-ers? Changing Rooms helped lead to an unprecedented interest in home improvement, benefitting the likes of B&Q and Ikea.

In 2004, Past Times cashed in on the popularity of the programme by signing up Changing Rooms presenter Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen to launch a homewares range ‘The Laurence Collection’ as it looked to reposition itself as a destination for homewares.

A survey in 2003 found that the average amount spent on individual DIY projects increased 53.5% on year to £2,610, thanks to the show as well as with low interest rates.

5. The Late Late Show

Comedian James Cordon’s US talkshow has been viewed as a massive success over in the States – but he’s also helped boost sales for retailers through his ‘carpool karaoke’ which sees him record him celebrity singalongs in his car.

James Corden Mariah Carey

James Corden and Mariah Carey’s carpool karaoke video has caused a spike in sales of dashboard cameras.

 

After his duet with Mariah Carey, Maplin said sales of dashboard cameras, which fix to the dashboard of vehicles to record footage, surged 510% year-on-year after the video of the duo went viral. The retailer said sales of its best-selling dashboard camera, the Nextbase 402G, jumped 680% in April alone since the clip from The Late Late Show was posted on YouTube. Halfords has also noticed an uplift in sales.

6. Sex And The City

Following the famous episode of ‘Charlotte and the Hare’ in 1998, where the character got ‘addicted’ to her vibrator, the show inspired a nation of pleasure-seekers who sought out the world’s most famous vibrator from Ann Summers.

The iconic rabbit in Ann Summers new Black Stores which champions the retailer's Rampant Rabbit collection

The iconic rabbit in Ann Summers new Black Stores which champions the retailer’s Rampant Rabbit collection

The lingerie retailer said it sold a whopping five million Rabbits in 12 months – claiming it outstripped sales of washing machines and tumble driers in the UK combined.

7. Ground Force

The garden makeover show inspired a nation of greenfingers, inspired by the likes of TV presenters Alan Titchmarsh and Charlie Dimmock making over the public’s gardens. The show, which ran from 1997 to 2005, boosted the amount of people doing gardening at home, benefitting garden centres and retailers selling outdoor products.

8. Game of Thrones

The TV series inspired Ocado to launch a Game of Thrones-inspired curated collection of meat fit for any Stark’s dinner table, including Hampshire game pigeon breasts, Laverstoke Park organic wild boar and garlic sausages, and game venison saddle.

9.  The Only Way is Essex

The reality TV show helped spark an increase in fake tan and false eyelashes as viewers wished to emulate the stars of the show. But the impact of TOWIE trippled over to sparkling wine as Sainsbury’s noted a 61% surge in sparkling wine sales amongst 18-24 year olds over the past year and put the increase down to The Only Way is Essex and Amy Childs and fellow cast members drinking pink Champagne in the show.

10. Delia Smith’s TV shows

The TV host and cookbook writer helped shift products across retailers so much, that the term the “Delia Effect” entered the Collins English Dictionary in 2001.

During her TV years, she helped boost sales of the likes of cranberries, omelette pans and Aunt Bessie’s frozen mashed potato. In 2010, Waitrose said sales of pork fillet increased by 1,300% after being featured in Delia’s half-time saltimbocca pork recipe one week, while sales of sage jumped 336%.