With the superstar American entertainer drawing a record audience for “The Eras Tour”, retailers across the US are actively and creatively marketing ‘Swifties’. (Taylor Swift tours).

Taylor Swift’s tours are conducted at 52 stadiums in most US states.

Taylor Johnson, founder of a women’s fashion company, says she owes Swift a ‘big thank you’ for her singer-songwriter Taylor Swift touring again. and made her company’s glittering sequin dresses, cowboy hats, and rhinestone boots universally available around the world.

“This year has turned out to be an extremely special year for us thanks to Taylor Swift,” said Johnson, CEO of Hazel & Olive.

In particular, one of their dresses, called The Eras Sequin Fringe Dress, which retails for $129, is out of stock.

“Our phones blew up, we got hundreds of calls and Instagram messages about that dress,” she said.

Francesca’s, a fashion chain with 454 stores nationwide, expects Swift’s tour to be impactful. 

Leanne Neale, corporate vice president of ideas and creativity in Houston, said ruffled, country-style dresses with dolls and bows in the back saw a 30% increase in sales. in stores when Taylor Swift came to tour in town.

Trendy clothing chain Altar’d State took the initiative to go all out on the Swift craze by curating styles from its collection for each Swift album. “Step into your decade,” the stores touted to customers.

Ticketmaster scandal

Swift’s “The Eras Tour” was already raging, popular before it even started. The concerts were so anticipated that pre-sale of tickets on the Ticketmaster website failed.

Ticketmaster blamed unusual demand for their website to go down and eventually canceled ticket sales to the public. Many people don’t have tickets even after they’ve bought them.

The mess caught the attention of lawmakers, leading to a Justice Department investigation and a congressional hearing.

Ticketmaster apologized to Swift and her fans for the “terrible experience” and said the online ticketing site would be back up and running once it was “reinforced with technology” for the tour. by Swift.

It was too late for some fans when they decided to take Ticketmaster (and Live Nation, the site’s parent company) to court.

But the show had to go on, and it did, with Swift arriving at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium (82,500 capacity) for performances over the weekend.

Behind the scenes of the race

At Altar’d State, “We’ve never prepped stores this way, but we call it Taylor week,” said Callie Lewis, the chain’s sales manager.

Swift-inspired mannequins are front and center in stores, along with other friendly items such as transparent bags that meet security procedures at locations give a concert.

Everything from metallic frocks and boots to cool, romantic frocks, tulle tops, bold red gowns and lots and lots of tassels.

Lewis said: “We couldn’t replenish stock fast enough. Top sellers included lavender-colored clothing (inspired by Swift’s song Lavender Haze).

Swift isn’t the only compelling concert tour to hit the fashion business in 2023.

Neale at sales chain Francesca’s said she expects Beyonce’s “Renaissance” tour will also stimulate demand for concert costumes.

She said that Francesca’s stores will also arrange styles that appeal to BeyHive (fans of singer Beyoncé).

And Taylor Johnson of Hazel & Olive admits that all this frenzy for product is essential, as up to 80% of the retailer’s monthly orders are now for concerts. (She declined to disclose her annual revenue but said she runs a small business with several million dollars a year in revenue.)

Johnson says she has ordered the maximum number of product designs for concert guests, but that doesn’t seem to be enough.

“As soon as I get more items, they will sell out quickly,” she said, adding that she even ships the goods at a higher cost from her suppliers in China. , instead of shipping by sea as usual, to speed up delivery.

“This is crazy, but I need Taylor Swift to perform year-round because we’re on track to hit our highest grossing track of the year,” she said.