Spending in downtown Toronto was up by 45 per cent, week-over-week, during Taylor Swift’s sold-out show run, according to data provided by Moneris.
Over the 10-day period Swift was in town performing six shows for her Eras Tour, spending was up in several categories. Clothing stores saw a boost of 49 per cent, accessory/specialty stores surged by 102 per cent.
Cinemas were up by 30 per cent and theatrical productions saw a 130 per cent increase “possibly due to visitors catching more than just the concert, or parents of concertgoers finding alternative activities.”
Another notable increase was bakeries that saw a growth of 54 per cent “suggesting concertgoers preferred quick bites” as restaurant growth was only up slightly with a 12 per cent increase.
In addition to Swift being in town, there were also Raptors and Leafs games as well as the opening of Wicked that premiered in theatres during the final weekend of her shows.
The busiest day in downtown Toronto, according to the data, was Nov. 21 which was Swift’s fourth show. The Raptors were also playing that Thursday night.
The second busiest day was Swift’s final show on Nov. 23 which was also the opening weekend for Wicked.
During the 10-day period, the least busy days in downtown Toronto were days Taylor Swift was not performing.
Ranking is based on volume spend in downtown Toronto by analyzing credit and debit card transaction data.
Moneris
“While other events overlapping with the tour may have helped increase foot traffic downtown, the concert was still the main event. Over the past 10 days, the busiest six by volume were all concert dates,” said Sean McCormick, VP of business development, data services for Moneris.
When it comes to international spending, the data showed it rose by 48 per cent with U.S. travelers contributing to 83 per cent of the foreign spending.
“Across key categories, foreign spend has contributed significantly to increases in overall spend,” said McCormick.
Moneris, a Canadian payment processor for debit and credit, compared the data from a ten-day period of Nov. 14 to Nov. 23 — covering the first and final show in Toronto for the Eras Tour — against Oct. 31 to Nov. 9.
Swift will be performing in Vancouver next for the last stop of the Eras Tour from Dec. 6 to 8.
