Taylor Swift concert events increase February retail gross sales

Australian retail gross sales skilled a modest enhance in February, with a seasonally adjusted rise of 0.3%, following a major increase from Taylor Swift’s sold-out concert events in Sydney and Melbourne, based on recent figures from ABS.

The rise comes after a 1.1% enhance in January 2024 and a 2.1% lower in December.

Live shows increase retail spending

ABS reported that greater than 600,000 followers attended the pop star’s concert events, driving up purchases in clothes, merchandise, equipment, and eating out.

“Seven sold-out Taylor Swift concert events in Sydney and Melbourne boosted retail spending this month,” mentioned Ben Dorber (pictured above), head of retail statistics at ABS, in a media launch.

The surge in spending contributed to the general progress in retail gross sales, regardless of a modest underlying progress development.

Underlying progress stays tepid

Regardless of the joy across the concert events, Dorber identified the broader context.

“Trying previous the non permanent and one-off affect of the Taylor Swift concert events, underlying progress in retail turnover was up solely 0.1% in development phrases,” he mentioned.

This means that apart from particular occasions driving non permanent spikes, the overall retail surroundings stays comparatively stagnant when it comes to progress.

Sector-specific affect

Particular sectors noticed notable will increase, with clothes, footwear, and private accent retailing rising by 4.2%, and shops by 2.3%.

The affect of the Taylor Swift concert events prolonged to cafes, eating places, and takeaway meals companies, which noticed a 0.5% rise.

“Style and accent retailers instructed us choices of Taylor Swift-inspired outfits and associated do-it-yourself equipment added to turnover in February,” Dorber mentioned.

Diverse efficiency throughout sectors and states

ABS additionally outlined a lower in turnover in sectors like family items retailing (-0.8%), different retailing (-0.4%), and meals retailing (-0.1%), indicating weaker underlying retail spending.

Geographically, retail turnover rose in most jurisdictions, with Victoria (0.7%) and New South Wales (0.6%) experiencing vital will increase, attributed to the inflow of tourists and native live performance goers’ spending. In distinction, Queensland (-.0.5%) recorded the biggest fall.

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