Taylor Swift live shows enhance 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 enhance from Taylor Swift’s sold-out live shows in Sydney and Melbourne, in response to contemporary figures from ABS.

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

Concert events enhance retail spending

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

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

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

Underlying development stays tepid

Regardless of the joy across the live shows, Dorber identified the broader context.

“Wanting previous the momentary and one-off impression of the Taylor Swift live shows, underlying development in retail turnover was up solely 0.1% in development phrases,” he stated.

This implies that other than particular occasions driving momentary spikes, the overall retail atmosphere stays comparatively stagnant when it comes to development.

Sector-specific impression

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

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

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

Diversified 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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