Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Barbie help Britain dodge a recession (no, really)
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Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Barbie drove spending spikes which helped steer the economy away from a recession this year.
New data from digital bank Monzo showed Brits splashed the cash on big ticket events and movie spectaculars this year – as well as dipping into their pockets to keep their Netflix subscriptions going.
Spending on the streaming platform increased by nearly a quarter after the on-demand video giant cracked down on so-called password sharing.
British cinemas benefited from ‘Barbenheimer’ – the joint arrival of both Barbie and Oppenheimer – on big screens, with average spending at the country’s theatres up more than 260 per cent on average.
And spending on event tickets spiked 340 per cent when Beyonce’s Renaissance world tour went on sale,
and 460 per cent when Taylor Swift’s Eras dropped onto Ticketmaster.
Monzo’s London customers spend £23m at Pret a Manger, and Liverpudlians spend more on late night snacks between 11pm and 4am than anywhere else in the country.