How Does the Harry Styles Effect Impact Our Spending?

Spotted wearing Celine’s cobalt blue suede flat sneakers, Harry Styles spiked demand for them. The surge reminds us of the 100 percent pop in Adidas Gazelles sales when he wore them.

Harry Styles in his Celine sneakers:

Called the Harry Styles Effect, far beyond sneakers, Harry Styles increases our spending.

Harry Styles Together Together Tour Impact

Rather like Taylor Swift–only more, according to Barclays–the Harry Styles Together, Together tour will generate at least $1.05 billion in spending.

At New York’s Madison Square Garden, every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday until October 31, his sold-out tickets included 11.5 million presale registrations. From there, we can predict a ripple to merchandise purchases, hotel rooms, and restaurant meals. In addition, if we have a repeat of Taylor Swift’s Miami statistics, then egg demand will skyrocket. Toast tells us that omelet sales at Miami’s restaurants soared by 27.2%.

Meanwhile, for the 12-night London leg of the Styles tour, Barclays predicted each person would spend close to £981, with 35 percent of his fans coming from other cities. As you would expect, at an average of £143.20 each, tickets grabbed the biggest slice. In addition, concertgoers would have spent an estimated £103.10 on pre-concert food and drink, £141.20 at local hotels, £103.10 for transport, and £ 102.20 on merchandise.

Our Bottom Line: Inelastic Demand

When the Harry Styles effect strikes, our spending becomes inelastic.

As economists, we can say that elasticity gauges our response to a price change. Rather like a rubber band, when price changes, so too will the quantity we demand. If we have a massive response, then our price elasticity of demand is elastic, while a small reaction is called inelastic. Doing the math, we create a fraction comparing the proportional change in quantity (numerator) to the proportional change in price (denominator). As a result, a lower ratio signals we were less elastic.

Sometimes we can predict elasticity. Items with more substitutes tend to have more elastic demand. After all, if Nike sneakers become too expensive, we can switch to Adidas. Meanwhile, we tend toward inelasticity for necessities and irreplaceable experiences–like Harry Styles.

Indeed, whether looking at his concert tour or a Celine cobalt blue sneaker, reflecting the Harry Styles Effect, price will have little or no impact on the amount his fans are willing and able to demand.

My sources and more: Recalling and partially quoting our past Harry Styles post, we decided it was time to return. Then, we found out about Styles’s sneakers and were delighted to discover more details in these Forbes and Barclays articles.