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.
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.”
Less than 24 hours after the couple announced their engagement, e-commerce platform Etsy was flooded with Taylor-Travis merchandise.
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.
“Taylor Swift fans have their own sort of secret language and secret code,” she said.
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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.
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.
“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 added.
Swift, Kelce and their marketing team have been careful not to alienate fans who might be feeling the pinch in their pocketbooks, McEwan said.
“This is a depressed economy, and it’s not going to resonate with her fans if she has very over the top and very expensive and very gaudy kinds of choices,” she added.
Economic observers should be wary of overstating the impact, Lander cautioned.
“She is not an economic engine for anything other than herself, as she should be,” he said.
Whether or not the Swift-Kelce wedding spurs new spending across their fanbase, it can certainly shape retail trends among fans with disposable income who were already predisposed to spending.
“You’re already seeing it with the engagement ring, right? That’s a really unusual cut,” McEwan said.
“If you are currently thinking about engagement rings and wedding dresses, you’re going to see the things that Taylor showcases to her fans,” she added.
Montreal-based Chateau D’Ivoire, a high-end jeweller, said its clients have been asking them about similar designs, less than 24 hours after Swift posted a picture of her engagement ring.
“They’ve been talking with me about the size, the cushion cut, the style, the design and how they designed it,” said Rachel Zhang, sales professional at Chateau D’Ivoire.
“She was wearing a vintage Cartier watch, to match her vintage engagement ring, which is stunning. This could be a timeless piece forever,” she said, adding that they’ve also been getting inquiries about watches.
The internet is already abuzz, McEwan said.
“There’s already entire Reddit boards devoted to what this ring is and how much it costs and how can you get a cushion cut like that,” she said.
But most people can’t afford a billionaire’s taste in jewelry.
“Not everyone can afford the kind of luxury that Taylor can afford,” McEwan said.
“What you’ll see is different (cheaper) spinoffs on the trends,” she added.
Etsy sellers are already trying to cash in, with fake-diamond rings that look like Swift’s ring being sold for as little as $300. Even high-end jewellers are trying to cater to different customer bases.
“Not many people will go looking for that big a cut. Taylor is wearing 13 carats. That’s a huge stone. From our experience, people are looking for something around one carat or two carats. Even three carats is rare,” Zhang said.
However, McEwan added that Swifties should temper their expectations about how much the couple may want to broadcast.
“She’s got a huge marketing team behind her and they’re very savvy at thinking through what pieces do they show and what do they not show,” she said, adding that Swift is particularly wary of fans developing parasocial relationships with her.
“She has to manage it very carefully because people can get over-involved,” McEwan added.
