There's a new star of the U.S. economy this summer: women. 'Is this how men have always felt?'

By Leslie Albrecht

Beyoncé, 'Barbie,' and Taylor Swift have put a spotlight on the rising power of the 'female dollar.'

Three female icons are driving the cultural conversation this summer and shining a spotlight on a rising star of the U.S. economy: the female consumer.

Spending by Beyoncé fans has affected inflation in two countries. Demand for Taylor Swift tickets has broken records. And "Barbie" made $337 million globally in its opening weekend -- the most ever for a movie directed by a woman. Appetite for content centered around women appears to be growing on a global level too, with the Women's World Cup breaking ticket sales and TV viewership records.

Does all that mean women in the U.S. have shaken off the pandemic and the so-called shecession that knocked millions of them out of the workforce?

This summer's female-driven spending is a discernible economic trend that deserves to be noted, said economist Misty Heggeness, who is writing a book called "Swiftynomics: Women in Today's Economy."

"Anybody who has ever undervalued the female purse, coming out of this summer, they are going to really rethink their methodology," she said.

'Is this how men have always felt?'

Media coverage of Swift's effect on local economies has prompted jokes that the singer is single-handedly saving the U.S. from a recession. But Heggeness says it's time to reframe that story. "The moment that we're in right now -- which I cheekily term Swiftynomics -- is not specifically a story about Taylor Swift," she said. "It's a story about women's acceleration of economic power."

Notably, Swifties are willing to break their own concert budgets, spending $1,327.74 on average to see Eras shows -- which is $720 more than they planned to spend on the experience, according to QuestionPro, a company that creates online surveys. And Beyoncé's Philadelphia tour stop led to a surge of interest in local restaurants, hotels, town cars and beauty services, especially nail technicians, according to Yelp, which tracks consumers' searches for certain types of businesses, although it doesn't capture whether they actually spend money.

Bank of America (BAC), meanwhile, said increased spending on entertainment and clothing was "likely partially driven by the release of the much-anticipated movies, Barbie and Oppenheimer," CNN reported.

The bonanza of female-centered entertainment has made this summer "an amazing time to be a woman," said Heggeness. "We are just inundated with all of this super-amazing content and stories that really talk about us in all of our realities. It's like, 'Is this how men have always felt?'"

What's driving women's spending?

The popularity of "Barbie," Beyoncé and Swift speaks to women's desire to make decisions about spending that are based on "fair representation, equity and inclusivity," said Mara Klaunig, a senior analyst at Camoin Associates who has studied the impact Swift concerts have on local economies. "The female audience really wants to feel heard and to be respected," Klaunig said.

This summer's concerts and movies have also given audiences a chance to cut loose, do some post-pandemic revenge spending and indulge in nostalgia, Klaunig said. "We've gone through some hard years," she said. "We keep on hearing about an impending recession and there's this backlash that's happening to all of that."

At the same time, women may be better positioned than ever to flex their financial strength. There are a record number of women in the U.S. labor force, surpassing prepandemic levels, and the unemployment rate among women is at an all-time low of 3.4%, said Denise Moulton, human capital insights leader at Deloitte Consulting. Moulton attended Swift's rain-soaked three-and-a-half-hour show in Foxborough, Mass., with her daughter in May.

"These shows, movies and fanfare aren't just about young girls celebrating their idols and donning sparkles and glitter," Moulton said. "These experiences celebrate individuality. They create a safe space to have fun and be uniquely you, and they transcend gender and age. There is so much power in consumers' dedication and love for these artists, and the purse is willing to pay."

Fall may bring shifting priorities

This summer, U.S. consumers across the board are also reporting improved financial well-being, with fewer saying they're worried about their savings or about their financial situation worsening, according to Deloitte's latest survey.

But there is a seasonal aspect to the current spending trend. Summer provides opportunities to spend on experiences like concerts, movies and travel, but come fall, new responsibilities may arrive, along with financial pressures that women in particular feel, such as back-to-school shopping and childcare, the search for which peaks in August, according to Care.com. And student-loan payments -- a burden that has an outsize effect on women, especially Black women -- are slated to resume in October.

"Their priorities are certainly going to be shifting," Klaunig said of women consumers.

Bigger than 'Barbie'

Some observers say the success of "Barbie" isn't necessarily groundbreaking, because Hollywood seems to rediscover female audiences every few years and then promptly forget about that half of the population. But venture capitalist Monique Woodard believes the smart money is on companies centered around women that serve what she calls the "trillion-dollar female economy." Woodard founded Cake Ventures, a $17 million venture fund that invests in companies that focus on three groups that are increasing in size and, in some cases, spending power: older people, people of color, and women.

Along with the "Barbie" juggernaut, there are a number of other female-focused economic success stories right now, Woodard told MarketWatch. Kim Kardashian's shapewear company, Skims, was recently valued at $4 billion, and Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein just filed for an initial public offering and is valued at more than $60 billion, "largely on the backs of young female consumers," Woodard said. And while it's easy to assume that fashion and beauty are the sectors where women prefer to spend their money, they're also signing mortgages, buying homes on their own and spending on financial services and healthcare, especially telehealth services, something that helped drive virtual-healthcare company Teladoc (TDOC) to a multibillion-dollar market capitalization, Woodard noted.

These shifts are partly driven by the fact that women are earning more -- the gender pay gap fell to an all-time low this summer, Axios reported -- with many becoming their family's primary breadwinner as they attain more education. Although college enrollment is declining, men account for 71% of that decline, Woodard said in a white paper on women's spending power. If that trend continues, women will soon be earning two out of every three new college degrees, she noted.

"I definitely think we are at a really important inflection point," Woodard said. "Barbie is in the moment right now, but the female dollar has been marching toward this place for a very long time."

And although women as a group are dominating pop culture this summer, it's not always the same women: The audiences for "Barbie," Beyoncé and Taylor Swift each skew differently in terms of race, age, gender and sexual identity. "Women are not a monolith," Woodard said. "It's extremely exciting to be able to see all of these different types of women coming into their economic power and influence all at the same time."

-Leslie Albrecht

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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08-05-23 0917ET

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