Forget Travis Kelce, here’s who Taylor Swift really needs

Everything seems perfect in the world of pop icon Taylor Swift. She is now a billionaire. She has a charismatic boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who is a star in his own right. Her latest album, Department for Tortured Poetsbroke all streaming records on its debut.

Swift’s concert tour, “The Eras,” was an unprecedented success. In the US, she contributed over $4 billion to the country’s gross domestic product. In the UK, she sold out an incredible eight concerts at Wembley Stadium, which is expected to increase the UK’s gross domestic product by over a billion dollars. There are even fears that her concerts in the EU could trigger regional inflation.

Problems with Taylor Swift’s merchandise

Merchandise is another highlight of the Swift universe. Last year, The Eras merch generated sales of $200 million.

Instagram

But merchandise is one of the few weak points in Swift’s otherwise impregnable fortress. Earlier this year, Axios listed numerous complaints from Swift fans, including shipping delays, poor quality items, slow refunds and long lines at live events.

Instagram

Stadium merchandise sale

Events in stadiums and similar venues pose a particular challenge for selling merchandise, especially when demand is extremely high, as appears to be the case with Swift’s concerts.

Events take place in a matter of hours. Thousands or tens of thousands of customers converge on one location during that time window. The space available for shops is often limited. Staffing can be a problem as working hours are short and irregular. It’s not just clothing and souvenirs, food and beverage sales at concerts and sporting events also suffer from similar problems.

From a fan perspective, long wait times are the biggest problem. I recently attended a minor league baseball game in South Bend, Indiana. The crowd seemed to be near the stadium’s capacity of 5,000. Although there were plenty of well-staffed food and drink stands, there was a long wait at each one. Buying a hot dog and a soda could easily take an entire inning.

Swifties Dilemma

Imagine… you’ve waited months for this night, spent a small fortune on tickets, and now you’re faced with a decision: wait in a seemingly endless line for that coveted blue crew neck shirt, or risk missing Swift’s opening number. This dilemma is facing fans all over the world, from Lisbon to Tokyo.

YoutubeHow long do Taylor Swift fans have to wait to pre-order Eras tour merchandise in Sydney?

These lines aren’t just annoying, they’re a real problem. Fans report waiting for hours and sometimes missing parts of the show they paid for. And for Swift? That means lost revenue and frustrated fans.

Even when merch trucks are set up in the days leading up to a concert, lines can be long.

Make queues faster

Enter an unexpected hero: Amazon. No, Jeff Bezos won’t be singing a duet with Taylor on stage (although I would pay for that). I’m talking about Amazon’s retail technology, specifically their Just Walk Out (JWO) and RFID systems.

You may have encountered this technology before at an airport or a sports stadium. Take what you want, walk out, and the amount is automatically calculated. No lines, no stress. It’s like magic, but with more algorithms and fewer magic wands. Recently I wrote a more detailed description of Amazon’s retail technology.

Now imagine applying this to Swift’s merchandise stores. Fans could browse, grab their coveted items, and be in their seats in no time. The potential benefits for fans and Swift are faster transactions, shorter lines, and likely higher sales. And most importantly, it’s a better fan experience.

RFID gates to the rescue

The technology most likely to reduce queues would be JWO RFID checkout gates. These can be set up and taken down quickly and do not require complex camera networks and store mapping. A customer can enter the store without a payment method, encouraging browsing. The customer can pick up items and go through the checkout after shopping using a credit card or Amazon One hand recognition. The items the customer picks up are automatically counted and charged.

Of course, it would be a challenge to quickly set up and tear down merch shops at every show. Concert halls aren’t permanent stores, and the crowds of eager Swifties are no joke. But if anyone has the resources and motivation to make it work, it’s the team behind the highest-grossing tour of all time.

From a fan’s perspective, this could be a game changer. More time to enjoy the show, less time to worry about missing something. And who knows? Some fans who would have been put off by a huge line might now decide to buy something. Repeat visits that were once unthinkable could be more practical without huge lines.

Not just for Taylor Swift

The implications go beyond Swift’s tour. The same technology is already transforming the way merchandise is sold at concerts and sporting events. High-traffic and time-sensitive retail environments could all benefit from faster throughput.

The Seattle Seahawks Pro Shop Outlet has installed this technology with good results. Geekwire tested it during a game and noted, “It felt like normal shopping – browsing items, trying things on, putting things back, etc. – until the end, when you either insert a credit card for a few seconds or scan your palm to pay. The best part was that you didn’t waste time waiting in line… This benefit became even more apparent when I walked down the concourse and saw a horde of people waiting to pay in the main Pro Shop store.”

Easier and faster merch rentals may not generate many tabloid headlines, but they could make the concert experience for millions of Swifties a little more magical. Jon Jenkins, vice president of JWO, says, “People hate waiting in line, so if we can solve that problem, it’s a significant problem.” Taylor Swift fans would no doubt agree.