Music lovers seem to have shaken off their cost-of-living woes as new information reveals Taylor Swift live performance tickets boosted card spend final month.
Dedicated followers spent hours queuing on-line to see the 33-year-old songstress as she kicks off her long-awaited ‘Eras Tour’ subsequent summer season.
And regardless of some tickets setting ‘Swifties’ again as a lot as £600 every, the affect on spend was important in the UK, in response to new figures from Barclays.
It discovered total card spend grew 4 per cent year-on-year in July, with spend in the leisure business rising as a lot as 15.8 per cent.
Ticket gross sales for the upcoming tour of rock band the Foo Fighters was additionally a significant increase for the business, Barclays stated, as shoppers flocked to snap up seats.
And though tickets have been troublesome to land – with 1000’s presently sitting on the Eras tour ready listing – this did not dampen spirits.
One in ten shoppers revealed they’re chopping again on different bills to afford tickets to live shows and flicks, in response to Barclays, with the same proportion saying they handled themselves to tickets in July regardless that they could not actually afford it.
Alice Enders, economist at Enders Analysis, stated: ‘The stay music sector has lengthy been a marvel for all to see, each right here and round the world, as a result of it offers an expertise, each in phrases of the music, socially and simply being there on your favorite artist.’
‘It can be presently nonetheless benefiting from the post-pandemic bounce-back of demand, like journey. Glastonbury was one other large bounce for UK leisure spend,’ she stated.
But it is not simply Swift and Dave Grohl which can be having a knock-on impact on the economic system.
US famous person Beyonce made headlines earlier this yr when the ‘Crazy in Love’ tremendous star was blamed for driving up inflation.
Official figures discovered surging admission costs for stay occasions was amongst the components behind the higher-than-expected inflation recorded in May, when the fee hit 8.7 per cent.
The ONS index for leisure and cultural items and providers, which incorporates ticket costs, was up by 6.8 per cent – its highest fee since August 1991.
Beyonce held 5 UK live shows as half of her Renaissance World Tour in May – and when she arrived in Cardiff, resort rooms had been being marketed for as much as £1,000 an evening.
Meanwhile in Sweden, the Beyonce Effect was blamed for higher-than-expected inflation, with one economist suggesting followers had pushed up the demand for resort rooms and eating places a lot that it affected the headline determine.