Taylor Swift shows spark beading bonanza and big sales for crafting retailers

When Taylor Swift swings through Vancouver in December, Mikaela St Louis will be among the pop star's most prepared fans.

The long-term care nurse based in Campbell River, B.C., will travel to one of the shows with 275 Swift-inspired friendship bracelets she made over the last few months.

"We don't have a ton of stores here, so I got everything that was available to me here and then I drove to another town an hour-and-a-half away and spent like $500 at Michael's on beads," said St Louis, estimating her bill for bracelet-making materials has now surpassed $1,000.

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Beaded friendship bracelets have become a hallmark for Swift fans, who string each one and then trade them at her concerts, attributing the trend to a line in her song, "You're on Your Own, Kid," which says, "So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it."

Fans like St Louis have proved to be a boon for retailers, which have seen jewelry-making materials fly off shelves, especially in cities where the songstress is due to make an appearance.

Craft supply chain Michaels, which will provide more than five million beads to a "Taylgate" party before Swift's Toronto shows, has said it sees a 300 per cent sales lift in its beads and jewelry categories in the days leading up to the concert in the city she is about to visit.

Merchants using Ottawa-based Shopify Inc.'s software similarly saw sales of jewelry wire rise by 57 per cent and beading patterns by 48 per cent between September 2023 and 2024.

And at Walmart Canada, the year-over-year increase in sales of bracelet-making kits has reached 250 per cent, with the most avid buyers hailing from B.C., Ontario and Alberta.

"We've increased our offering since last year to make sure there's no bad blood when customers are prepping for their concert experience," spokesperson Stephanie Fusco added in an email.

But shortages still abound.

For months, St Louis has found it hard to find letter beads or charms reminiscent of Swift because any stores selling bracelet-making materials are "picked over at this point."

"I feel like as many letter beads as my local Walmart wanted to bring in, they would probably sell," she said.

Toronto-based independent retail consultant Leigh McCall agrees that catering to Swift fans is a no-brainer for businesses because her fans have shown they're willing to travel great distances and shell out big bucks to see her in concert.

Online research company QuestionPro said last June, before Swift had announced her November visit to Toronto and December tour dates in Vancouver, that fans had spent an average US$1,300 per show. Less than two weeks before her first Toronto concert, some seats were priced on resale ticket website StubHub for just shy of $10,000.

"Her demographic fans and families have proven to have the resources to spend money on tickets, etc.," McCall said in an email. "Depending on the price points, (bracelet materials are) an easy and plentiful sale for the retailers."

The timing is also ideal for stores. Any jewelry kits that don't sell in time for Swift's shows would make ideal gifts during the forthcoming holiday season, meaning they're a product that "can be carried for a few months without markdowns," McCall said.

But it's also possible sales will endure well past December because friendship bracelets are gaining popularity beyond Swifties.

Many fans are now handing their favourite actors, singers and athletes friendship bracelets at shows and games. Social media sites are rife with chatter from people headed to other artists' concerts, questioning whether anyone will want to trade with them there.

St Louis, for example, saw people wearing friendship bracelets at a recent Vancouver Canucks game and was given one at a Noah Kahan show. She also planned to hand some out at an upcoming Sabrina Carpenter concert.

Broader interest in bracelets has been noticeable at the Butterfly Beads and Jewellery shop in Scarborough, Ont.

Marketing manager Mishal Butt used to notice younger customers purchasing materials they could fashion into bracelets to wear at raves, but now her mom, owner Shakila Butt, said customers are coming in for all kinds of reasons.

"They're younger girls and they buy a lot of beads in different colors," Shakila said. "Mostly the purple-pink combination together."

And many aren't stopping at beads.

In addition to friendship bracelets and charms, Indigo Books & Music Inc. has seen an "impressive surge" in interest in badges and stickers it partially attributes to Swift. Altogether, sales of these items more than doubled in the last year, vice-president of merchandising Matt Elmer said in an email.

St Louis suspects the broader range of items people are scooping up has something to do with the groups that some fans have convened on social media.

One of the Facebook groups St Louis is in has amassed 16,600 members who post about their newest creations and acquisitions but also send each other bracelets, stickers, confetti and other sparkly trinkets.

St Louis sees it as an unapologetic celebration of girlhood that will keep bringing people together long after the glitter has settled on Swift's Eras tour.

"It's about kindness and sharing things and just enjoying something and not feeling dumb about it."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.