The global economy may be trying to get Out Of The Woods, but a celebrity wedding might just be what it needs to Shake It Off after pop star Taylor Swift announced her engagement to two-time Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce. The news is spurring hope that it could bring a much-needed boost to retail sales and consumer spending.
Swift's impact on local economies and retail has long been the subject of study, with one estimate claiming that the singer-songwriter's 2023 U.S. tour may have generated US$4.6 billion in total consumer spending, larger than the GDP of 35 countries.A report dubbed Swiftonomics: Eras Tour Impact on Colorado found that Swift's two shows in July led to a US$140-million boost to the state's GDP for the year.
Canada, too, was left feeling the Lavender Haze from the performer's shows here. Story continues below advertisement Payment processing firm Moneris released data indicating downtown Vancouver saw a 154 per cent increase in spending levels during her Eras Tour in 2024 - a spike not seen since the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the report said.
Clothing stores saw a 923 per cent increase in sales, while sales of cosmetics rose 529 per cent. Variety stores saw a 178 per cent increase in sales volumes.
Swift and Kelce's engagement has the potential to garner as much attention, if not more, than the Eras Tour, some experts argue."Taylor Swift actually broke Instagram for a little bit. Meta put out a report that they had some outages because this was one of the most-liked Instagram posts ever," said Bree McEwan, a professor at the University of Toronto's Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology."You have two very, very involved fandoms who are coming together - more the Swifties than the NFL guys - to celebrate a relationship that they've been watching for a while." 0:36 'It's a love story': Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announce engagement Less than 24 hours after the couple announced their engagement, e-commerce platform Etsy was flooded with Taylor-Travis merchandise. Story continues below advertisement Images of the couple holding each other, touching foreheads, are emblazoned on T-shirts and sweatshirts selling for as much as $100 on the site.
Other merch includes onesies for babies with the text, "My English teacher and gym teacher are getting married," a reference to Swift and Kelce's Instagram caption announcing their engagement.
McEwan said Swift's fandom - or Swifties, as they like to dub themselves - are particularly suited for a merchandise boom. That's because of Swift's proclivity for catchy lyrics and Easter eggs hidden throughout her music and engagement with the public. More on Money More videos Trump dump? More than half of Canadians with U.S. properties want to ditch them Canada Post lost $407 million in 'largest loss' in a single quarter Duty-free shipping to U.S. ends Friday. Canadian businesses are 'fearful' Health Canada recalls furniture sold at The Brick for excessive lead Trump's 50% tariffs on India now in effect U.S. food, alcohol 'not coming on our shelves' if tariff deal isn't made: Ford Parents brace for rising back-to-school costs Ontario to begin Highway 413 construction in 'next few days': Ford "Taylor Swift fans have their own sort of secret language and secret code," she said. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. The 2018 wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle is said to have added 1.05 billion pounds, or US$1.43 billion, to the British economy.
But the impact of individual artists or events on the broader economy might be overstated, said Moshe Lander, economist at Concordia University."Taylor Swift is the 21st-century answer to Madonna," he said."We would go crazy when she (Madonna) was releasing her album or when she was making headlines in the tabloids for who she was dating. Did it improve our quality of life? Is the Gen X standard of living better because of the Madonna effect? No, of course not," he said. Story continues below advertisement While the impact around a major event could help retail sales in some sectors, it might hurt others."They (fans) have to take their disposable income from somewhere else to move it towards the tickets," he said, citing the example of the Eras Tour shows in Toronto.
For example, someone spending money on Eras Tour tickets or merchandise might choose to delay spending money in other areas, such as on a home renovation or eating out. This is because without the pot growing, most people have the same amount of money to spend on discretionary expenses. 45:25 The Morning Show: August 27 "The economic impact of Taylor Swift might be positive in and around the Rogers Centre. But it's negative in and around the Eaton Centre," Lander a