New Data from RetailNext Finds Taylor Swift The Eras Tour Had a Significant Impact on Retail Foot Traffic in Nashville & Pittsburgh

According to RetailNext, the leading in-store traffic analytics provider used by 400+ of the world’s most loved brands, retail store traffic increased in several U.S. cities during the days Taylor Swift was in town for The Eras Tour.

The Eras Tour, which took place multiple nights in some cities, gave retail businesses a much-needed boost, and on average, store traffic increased 7% across the tour cities analyzed by RetailNext.

Year over Year Percentage Change in Store Traffic for the 3 Weekends Leading Up to the Concert

• Nashville: 1%
• Santa Clara: 6%
• Atlanta: -8%
• Minneapolis: -6%
• Pittsburgh: -12%

Percentage Change for the Concert Days

• Nashville: 15%
• Santa Clara: 8%
• Atlanta: -4%
• Minneapolis: -3%
• Pittsburgh: -2%

Net Change in YoY Trend for Concert vs. 3 Weekends Leading Up to Concert

• Nashville: +14%
• Santa Clara: +2%
• Atlanta: +4%
• Minneapolis: +3%
• Pittsburgh: +10%​

Hometown Show Cities Saw the Biggest Increase in Retail Foot Traffic

Shoppers came out in full force in Nashville and Pittsburgh to support Taylor, who was born in Pennsylvania and started her career in Tennessee. In Nashville, store traffic jumped 15%, and Pittsburgh saw a 10 percentage point (ppt) jump compared to this time last year.

This store traffic boost is on trend with other industries like hospitality and transportation, which experienced record-breaking sales during her concert dates, according to the Federal Reserve.

Minneapolis and Atlanta Saw a Boost Even Though Traffic is Down YOY
While store traffic was down 6% in Minneapolis leading up to the concert compared to the prior year, the city’s retailers still saw a rise in foot traffic by 3 ppt during the concert dates, and in Atlanta, the traffic trend improved 4 ppt for the concert weekend went up 4% for the concert weekend itself from -8% YOY in the weeks leading up to the event.

Traffic to Apparel Stores Boomed in Nashville and Santa Clara
Out of the retailers that use the RetailNext platform in each city, data shows a boost in traffic across apparel stores, with shoppers going out in full force, particularly in Nashville, which saw a 37% increase in traffic, Santa Clara with a 29% increase, Atlanta with a 11% increase, and Pittsburgh with a 10% increase.

“Taylor Swift is a force, and the impact her concerts had on retail businesses does not go unnoticed,” says Joe Shasteen, Global Manager, Advanced Analytics at RetailNext. “We anticipate that the pop in retail foot traffic will continue as her tour expands overseas, and we’ll be monitoring those traffic trends.”

About the Study
RetailNext analyzed millions of data points from its platform beginning February 2022 through August 2023 in Nashville, Santa Clara, Atlanta, Minneapolis, and Pittsburgh. The company assessed customer traffic in those cities for the three weekends leading up to The Eras Tour, the concert dates themselves, and compared those figures year over year.

About RetailNext
The first retail vertical IoT platform to bring e-commerce style shopper analytics to brick-and-mortar stores, brands, and malls, RetailNext is a pioneer in focusing entirely on optimizing the shopper experience. Through its centralized SaaS platform, RetailNext automatically collects and analyzes shopper behavior data, providing retailers with insight to improve the shopper experience in real-time.

More than 400 retailers in over 75 countries have adopted RetailNext’s analytics software and retail expertise to better understand the shopper journey in order to increase same-store sales, reduce theft, and eliminate unnecessary costs. RetailNext is headquartered in San Jose, Calif.

Learn more at retailnext.net.

Contact Information

Maggie Philbin

PR for RetailNext

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