Just call it the Taylor Swift Economic tour.
Wallets were flying open for everything from merch to munchies in downtown Toronto last week thanks to her first three Eras tour dates.
Overall spending was up 57 per cent compared to the prior week, according to data from Canadian payment processing firm Moneris.
“We can safely assume that the spend lift is related to the Taylor Swift shows,” said Sean McCormick, vice president of business development and data services for Moneris. The increase is “significant,” he added.
Tourism non-profit Destination Toronto estimates that Swift’s tour will generate $152 million in direct spending and $282 million in overall economic impact.
“This tour has just captured global attention and imagination in a way that few before it have,” said Andrew Weir, CEO and president of Destination Toronto. “The real power of tourism is it brings new money into our economy. It’s not just moving around the same money over and over again.”
There has been a clear economic boost in cities whenever Swift visits, also known as Swiftonomics. Her two Denver concerts last year reportedly added $140 million (U.S.) to the state’s GDP where fans spent an average of $1,327 on show-related expenses.
In Philadelphia last year, Swift’s visit contributed to the city’s strongest month for hotel revenue since the onset of the pandemic. In Chicago, three concerts helped break that city’s hotel revenue record.
Hotel prices across the city jumped and opportunistic Torontonians have been renting out their apartments to cash in on the craze.
The tour is a “much needed shot in the arm” for Toronto businesses that have had a “tough year,” said McCormick. “Consumer spending has been flat to down versus 2023.”
Though customers are more careful with discretionary spending in today’s inflationary environment, they are still willing to spend money on events, McCormick added. “It’s the YOLO (You Only Live Once) effect.”
And the shows are not cheap, with last-minute tickets ranging from $2,000 to $22,500, but McCormick says “consumers are willing to do this for the once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
The Swift juggernaut, which started in March 2023, is the highest-grossing tour on record with gross earnings of $1 billion in 2023 alone, according to concert trade publication Pollstar.
In Toronto, spending by international visitors more than doubled over the three concert dates, according to the Moneris data, as tourists flocked to movies and theatrical productions and jacked up spending at clothes and accessory stores.
“I don’t think you can underestimate what an additional 32 per cent means to clothing stores,” said McCormick of the hike seen in the shops. The tour “is a gift from the heavens for these merchants.”
Snack shops saw a 61 per cent sales increase, which suggests that concertgoers are “opting for quicker bites,” said McCormick. Restaurant sales were up slightly, at two per cent.
Recent restaurant-goers seem to have different buying habits than regular customers, said Jeffrey Adaya, dining room manager at Vagabondo Restobar, an Italian restaurant just steps from the Rogers Centre where Swift’s concerts are taking place.
“Some of them are coming from the U.S., so they spend more,” Adaya said.
Vagabondo has seen an increase in the total number of diners as well, but they’re unable to accommodate them due to restaurant capacity.
Not every business has experienced the Swift sales bump.
Shree Varthine, a server at Annalakshmi Toronto, an Indian restaurant near the Rogers Centre, said the concert hasn’t had the impact she was expecting.
“Most of the people come and they use the washroom,” she said. “That’s it.”
Swift’s final Toronto tour stops are Nov. 21-23.
