UOB card billings surged 35 per cent week on week over Mar 4 to Mar 10, when four of six of Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour concert events took place in Singapore.
According to first-quarter data released on Monday (Mar 25), spending across almost all tourism-related categories experienced a marked surge led in spending at clothing retailers (85 per cent), transportation and travel (80 per cent), and amusement and entertainment (over 50 per cent).
Hotels rang in nearly 45 per cent growth in UOB card billings, while food and beverage (F&B) receipts rose more than 30 per cent.
UOB noted that locations at the Marina Bay precinct and the Central Business District that are close to the Singapore Sports Hub – where Swift’s concerts were held – outperformed national levels.
The bank’s credit and debit cardholders had spent more than S$30 million purchasing The Eras Tour tickets with Singapore-registered cards comprising almost 75 per cent of total billings, added UOB.
Malaysia contributed to over 10 per cent of billings, while Thai and Indonesian fans snagged over 5 per cent each.
Almost a third of UOB cardholders who purchased tickets to the event used cards issued outside of Singapore. Nearly 40 per cent of these cardholders were previously Citigroup customers who were onboarded as part of UOB’s acquisition of Citi’s consumer banking franchise in the region.
An almost 120 per cent month-on-month spike in UOB card applications volumes was reported from Jun 21 to Jul 7 in 2023. This marked the period starting from the announcement of Swift’s The Eras Tour concerts in Singapore, until the end of the general on-sale period.
New-to-card customer applications grew over 75 per cent over the same period, while new-to-bank applications increased over 50 per cent in terms of primary credit card applications.
UOB also noted a four percentage-point growth for credit card applications among 25- to 29-year-olds.
In the months following the ticketing window, the bank’s registered cardholders outside of Singapore who bought Taylor Swift tickets for the event in Singapore spent more on a year-on-year basis with their UOB cards.
The total spending of Malaysian UOB cardholders whobought tickets to The Eras Tour in Singapore grew more than 50 per cent over Jul 1, 2023 to Mar 8, 2024 when compared to the same period the year before.
Thai UOB cardholders’ spending surged over 45 per cent on the year.
The bank also noted that card attrition rates remained “stable and low” in the months following the ticketing sales to date – a “clear indication that a significant majority of cardholders, longstanding and new, are seeing the value in (its) cards”.
