Parents race to keep up with yummy mummies and posh prams

THE A-list pushchair parade, with stars wheeling their babies around in the latest high-end prams, is fuelling the sale of expensive products among image-conscious parents, according to research.

Celebrity mums such as Kate Garraway, Charlotte Church and Coleen Rooney are opting for funky pushchairs such as those from Bugaboo and the Mamas and Papas ranges which can cost around 800.

Market analysts Mintel research found that despite economic difficulties, sales of prams and pushchairs have increased an impressive 13 per cent - or 26 million - in the past two years alone and now accounts for 30 per cent of all spending on baby and nursery equipment.

Last year UK parents spent 225 million on these must-have vehicles for their babies.

The research also reveals that no new arrival is complete without a perfectly co-ordinated nursery. Accounting for 18 per cent of the market, expenditure on nursery furniture grew by 10 per cent between 2008 and 2010 to reach 137 million.

Jane Westgarth, senior consumer analyst at Mintel, said: "Style and design have been key factors in helping to drive growth in spending on baby and nursery goods.

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"Celebrities with high-end brand-name prams for their offspring have helped to popularise stylish and funky designs for wheeled goods and some brands have managed to acquire an almost cult status in the baby world and command high prices for the image-conscious parent in the park.

"When parents take their children out and about, the items they choose to transport their infants say a lot about their sense of style and quality.

Ms Westgarth added: "Within the sector, prams that incorporate a clip-on infant car seat are currently performing particularly well because of the convenience of use and the lack of disturbance when moving the child in and out of the car - high on the list of priorities for every sleep deprived mother."

Meanwhile, sales of car seats, which make up 16 per cent of the market, have grown by 12 per cent in the last two years to reach 120 million. Volume of sales has been boosted due to many parents buying an extra car seat for the childminder or grandparents' cars.

Julie Doidge, manager at Corstorphine and Raeburn Pram Centre in Edinburgh, said: "Some people are definitely influenced by celebrities. But prams are traditionally bought by the mother of the new mum and we get a lot of grandparents sneaking in to ask how much the pram is likely to cost.

"Nursery furniture sales have gone down over the past three or four years, probably due to the recession. But people are still willing to spend a lot on the pram because that is what they will be seen pushing around."However, a spokeswoman for the National Childbirth Trust said there were ways of cutting down the cost of equipping a new baby.

"NCT Nearly New Sales provide parents with the opportunity to buy top quality baby goods in 'nearly new' condition at a fraction of the high street price. Last year the charity ran more than 600 sales, and 200,000 parents looking for a bargain attended," she said.