Swifties opened their wallets for The Eras Tour. Here’s how it caused a massive boost in the economy.

Dubbed “Swiftonomics” by some, Swift’s business moves have become a case study of how one artist has unprecedentedly boosted the economy all around the country.

Forbes estimated earlier this year that the Eras Tour will generate a total of $4.6 billion in consumer spending in local economies across the U.S. When it comes to individual spending, the U.S. Travel Association said Swifties spent an average of $1,300 in local economies on travel, hotels, food, merchandise and costumes.

In other words, by those estimates, Swifties who attended the Eras Tour — especially those who traveled to another city for their show — each spent around $1,300 to be there. And when you add up every one of the millions of Swifties who did that, that’s almost $5 billion.

That money benefitted the hotels, restaurants and other local businesses in each of the cities Swift played in, inevitably boosting the local economy there as a result. While the exact bump depends on several factors, the general standard for concerts is that every $100 spent generates $300 for the local economy, according to USTA.

Not to mention, her concert film from the tour, eponymously named “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” became the highest-grossing concert film this month when it reached $250 million.

Through Swift’s deal with AMC, the entertainment company reportedly stands to retain 57% of the film’s gross earnings — a major boost for a company that struggled to stay afloat during the pandemic. The movie will also be available to rent for $19.89 on select streaming platforms beginning Dec. 13.

Peter Cohan, an associate professor of management at Babson College, said he thinks Swifties are more open to spending money on things like merchandise at concerts because of the emotion behind it.

“People just love Taylor Swift, and they want to buy everything they possibly can get their hands on when they're at the concert,” Cohan said. “It's a big celebration for them … I think you put all that human emotion together and you get more spending than maybe people initially estimated.”

In terms of the profitability of the Eras Tour, Cohan said it’s lucrative to attract as many people as possible to the shows. Beyond the in-person shows, having a film of the concert is an extension of that experience, Cohan said.

“Perhaps what she's decided is she doesn't want to tour anymore in the near term after what she's planning on doing and she wants to tap into the extra revenue that can be generated by fans going to the movie without her having actually to be there,” Cohan said. “So it's just incremental revenue that she can get by not touring.”

When it comes to Swift’s business ventures, Cohan said he thinks she is successful because she understands her fans.

“It’s kind of amazing that (Swift) seems to just innately understand how to be a successful entrepreneur,” Cohan said. “And she's probably been doing it since she was a teenager. So she's definitely accumulated a lot of experience and knowledge too.”

Kayla Berenson is among the Swifties who contributed to an economic bump by attending a show. Berenson, a 26-year-old news producer, lives in Cincinnati but attended Swift’s June 16 show in Pittsburgh.

The two Eras Tour shows in Pittsburgh generated $46 million in spending for the city, with 83% of attendees coming from outside Allegheny County, according to the city’s tourism website.

Berenson said she spent around $150 on lodging and travel, splitting the cost of a hotel room and gas for the drive with a friend. Between the ticket for the show and merchandise, she estimated she spent about $200. While she was committed to attending the show, she said the financial aspect was a concern.

“I work in journalism, the salary is not as big as I would hope,” Berenson said. “So it definitely was something that I was budgeting for and putting away money for.”

Although Swift stopped in Cincinnati during the tour, Berenson said she couldn’t get tickets for the show there. When trying to get tickets through Ticketmaster’s verified fan presale, Berenson said she chose her top three cities — Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Chicago — but was only selected for the Pittsburgh show.

“The stadium (in Cincinnati) was a few blocks away from my apartment, so it would have been much more convenient to go and do that,” Berenson said. “I knew that that wasn't going to be the case, so it was something I definitely had to plan for financially.”

However, Berenson said she didn’t regret spending the money to go to the show because of the experience she had.

“It's more than just a concert,” Berenson said. “It is an experience, especially with this particular Eras Tour. I feel like if you didn't like any of the last four albums that she released, you could still find something that you loved because it was everything. So I think that it was bringing Swifties of all ages and all of their own eras together to celebrate her eras.”

Ashley Simmons, a Swiftie from Massachusetts, had a slightly different experience. Simmons was at all three of Swift’s shows at Gillette Stadium in May, but she was at one of them as an employee.

Simmons has worked at Gillette Stadium since 2013 in a guest services position, which entails greeting and directing guests into the stadium.

“As awesome as I think it is that people literally went and got jobs just to go (to the Eras Tour), I can't put myself in that category,” Simmons said. “But I would be lying if I said that being able to attend every Taylor Swift show wasn’t a good incentive for continuing to work there.”

While it’s unclear just how many people worked on the tour around the country, the United Kingdom-based Professional Lighting and Sound Association estimates that 443 people are employed for an average live concert performance.

Working a show was a common way for a lot of fans who couldn’t get tickets to see Swift perform, The Washington Post previously reported. Davis Waddell, chief executive of the app Tend, which connects workers for hospitality jobs, told the Post the company hires anywhere from 50 to 500 staffers per concert for guest services jobs.

During Swift’s stop in Los Angeles, employment in the city increased by 3,300 jobs, according to a report by the California Center for Jobs and the Economy.

Simmons, a longtime Swiftie who has attended all of Swift’s previous shows at Gillette Stadium, said she was motivated to work the show both to see Swift perform again as well as to balance what she spent on the first two shows.

“I have an opportunity to be there not only for free but get paid to be there,” Simmons said. “So it was like, obviously, I'm going to be in the building when Taylor’s in the building, but also just make a little bit of extra money to kind of put a dent in what I spent the first few nights.”

For the first two shows Swift played at Gillette, Simmons was able to get her tickets through presales. Though she was able to purchase those tickets at face value, Simmons said she was disheartened at how expensive the tickets were.

“I'm willing to go a little bit higher to see Taylor than I would for some other artists, but the cost was definitely on my mind,” Simmons said.

Simmons emphasized Berenson’s sentiment that the value of the experience outweighed the cost.

“At the end of the day, you are getting this incredible show, there's value there, there's a lot of bang for your buck,” Simmons said. “So it's something that I'm willing to work a couple extra concerts to be able to pay to go to Taylor. So that's kind of how I rationalized that in my mind. I do cut back in other areas of my life so that I'm able to splurge on her shows.”

As someone who has worked at concerts and football games over the last decade, Simmons said she has seen how live events like the Eras Tour are important for the local economy.

“There's just so many people in the local area who are working in those restaurants, who are working at those hotels, who are working in those entertainment spaces that benefit every time a show like this comes to town,” Simmons said.