Recently the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia addressed the ‘Switftie’ spend as a result of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour. The Fed said that “Taylor Swift’s tour helped boost travel and tourism in the region”, per CBS News. This comes hot off the heels of the city of Chicago announcing that due to Swift’s recent Chicago tour date, the city broke an all-time hotel occupation record with over 44K+ rooms booked over the weekend. According to the Wall Street Journal, spending in Cincinnati “related to Swift’s tour reached an estimated $48 million”. Somehow a girl with a guitar is now single-handedly affecting economies across the United States (and soon, internationally).
Large concerts or cultural events bring people in, and those people who travel for events or concerts know they’re going to spend money. Some attendees spent as much as $4,000 for a pair of tickets and still bring more pocket money for souvenirs. During the Eras tour stop in Minneapolis, a local donut shop created a set of 12 Taylor Swift inspired donuts for hungry Swifties. According to WSJ, the dozen donuts sold for $63 each and sold out after moving through 150 boxes. Each Taylor Swift donut breaks down to $5.25, nearly three times the average price of a regular Dunkin’ Donut. While this anecdote is certainly jarring, it’s an indication that if you cater to the audience coming in, they will pay a premium.
This is news you simply can’t shake off, so let’s identify what this means for dispensaries.
For cannabis retailers, this is still an opportunity to hop on trends and events. Many dispensaries in major cities offer some discount when trade shows are in town, and it’s typically something simple such as 10% off with your convention badge. These kinds of coupons are standard in cities like Las Vegas and New York where conventions often occur. This is a great starting point, but there’s always more that your team can do to activate during events.
With lore-heavy acts like Taylor Swift, the rabid fans would react well to a 13% discount- an important number in her art and personal preference. The discount difference isn’t enough to break your budget but is enough to show some love to the fandom. Taylor Swift has not publicly come out in favor of cannabis but has released a song called ‘Lavendar Haze’. With the accompanying strain, dispensaries could move some serious linalool-heavy flower in the vein of the singer’s hazy song. In-store music takeovers in honor of whatever big concert there is in town can also help create a fun atmosphere for fans.
If you’re curious about other ways to attract out-of-towners, we have a guide on attracting tourists to your dispensary available on our blog.
Outside of the Eras tour, we can still learn that smaller events and concerts are still worth marketing to. Stay in tune with your local event calendar and know what stadium shows are coming to town. By taking some of the practices we see with the Eras tour, more tourists, opportunity to participate in the overall event atmosphere, unique sales opportunities, we can look ahead and replicate the same energy and (hopefully) replicate some of the sales as well.
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