The American pop icon filled a void the world didn’t know existed with her soulful music. And while her songs are impressive, Swift is also a commercial tour de force.
Their Eras Tour, which began last year after a global pandemic, broke all records Highest grossing tour in the history. In every city she appeared in, she saw an increase in business, whether in retail, food and beverage or hotel room sales.
Such is Swift’s influence that the Eras Tour generated $5 billion in consumer spending in the U.S. in just six months. Estimates from Nomura suggest.
The singer is now leveraging her economic clout in Europe during this brutal summer – and experts predict the benefits could surpass the US leg of her tour.
What makes Europe different for Swift?
Swift does over 50 shows, including in the UK, Switzerland and Poland.
While the timing and macroeconomic environment differs in each country compared to the US, Europe as a whole has some general advantages.
“[Europe has] There is a stronger public transportation network than in the US and therefore it is easier to reach the venue from a larger region. Therefore, we believe the impact is likely to spread further than just within this two and a half mile radius,” said Natalia Lechmanova, chief European economist at the Mastercard Economics Institute Assets.
This means that people don’t necessarily have to be near concert venues before attending, but can rely on an efficient transportation system to get them where they need to go. It also helps that Swift’s tour dates are spread out over the summer, when people are already eager to travel.
As if that wasn’t reason enough, Swift is ready too perform new tracks from a double album she released last month at her upcoming shows. That bodes well for the pop star’s American fans, many of whom did flocked to Paris in larger numbers than at the Olympics to watch Swift perform. Others travel to different parts of Europe to catch a glimpse of their idol.
Caroline Babinski, a 26-year-old from New York, is flying to Zurich to attend one of Swift’s performances in July. She saw two shows on the Eras tour in the US, but that didn’t stop her from doing another one – but this time in Europe.
“It was much, much easier to book in Zurich. When I tried to go to the shows in the US, I actually never got advance sales,” Babinski said Assetsand added that the tickets were also much cheaper compared to the show she attended in Philadelphia.
Babinski said she spent about $1,500 on the trip to Zurich, where she would stay with her sister and attend Swift’s concert.
“I think it’s worth it,” she said. “The production of the show that she’s doing right now is just second to none.”
Kevin Mazur – TAS24/Getty Images/TAS Rights Management
“So will it be forever, or will it go up in flames?”
Lechmanova identified the strong US dollar and the increasing trend of spending money Experiences rather than material goods as other factors driving American Swifties to Europe.
Economies around the world have had a difficult few years with interest rates. It took a lot of work, but inflation has finally started to cool in most major economies, even if it is not as low as their central banks would like.
However, sudden demand for hotel rooms and food and beverage services ahead of major concerts may temporarily fuel inflation. It happened last July in Sweden during the “Beyoncé slip-up” as core inflation slowed less than expected in the month of the singer’s Renaissance tour in Stockholm.
Could this be a concern during Swift’s Eras tour in Europe? Unlikely, said Lechmanova.
“There may be a slip on that day, but then there will be a crash. So when it comes to that [the] “The impact on inflation trends in Europe is nothing to write home about,” she said.
While Swift’s concerts will pass like a moment, they will have a bigger impact in smaller cities than larger ones, Nomura analysts wrote in a March note. The reason for this is that giants like London and Paris can accommodate large numbers of additional visitors in a way that Liverpool, for example, cannot.
In the UK alone, Barclays estimates an economic boost of 1 billion pounds ($1.27 billion), with concert ticket holders spending 12 times more than the average Brit spends in a night out. Swifties feed the mania by binging on concert-themed movies and dressing up for the artist’s various “eras.”
A more local impact was also seen in Ireland, where Swift made three appearances in June, said George Moran, European economist at Nomura Assets.
However, there is a risk of overestimating the economic impact, he warns.
“U.S. cities and their placement of large stadiums may be very different from the international cities that Taylor Swift will visit in 2024,” Moran said, adding that any impact, as seen in the Beyoncé gaffe in Sweden, is more likely are sectoral in nature (e.g. in the hospitality sector) rather than having a significant impact at a macroeconomic level.
“If the effect were not visible in a small economy like Sweden, it is very unlikely that it would have a significant effect on larger economies,” he said.
In any case, Europe has already rolled out the red carpet for Swift and her performances through August.
With fans swarming around her at various venues, waiting with bated breath to see her live, it looks like Swift is already owning the summer.