If there is one thing that has become synonymous with Swifties, other than Taylor herself, it’s the making and swapping of friendship bracelets. During ‘The Swift Lift’ this summer, Uber will be releasing specially designed, colour-coded friendship bracelets that will be available to riders during this summer of concerts.
Uber has partnered with Etsy sellers in Edinburgh, Liverpool, Cardiff and London, to design and create limited-edition friendship bracelets to swap at concerts. With Swifties known for loving a code to crack, among the bracelets placed in the Ubers, 200 will consist of a special code that offers £20 off Uber Reserve, helping Swifties travel to concerts in style.
The bracelet launch comes as Uber unveils the phenomenal impact Swifties have had on local economies, with Uber reporting an uplift in demand in every tour city from her sell-out global tour. In fact, Phoenix saw the largest increase in demand, with a 63% increase in Uber requests whilst Taylor was in town, while all cities saw an average increase of 23% when The Eras Tour was playing. Sellers on Etsy heeded to the pop sensation’s call to “make the friendship bracelets” – in fact, Etsy sellers sold five and a half million dollars in friendship bracelets between April and August of 2023.
With Taylor set to come to the UK over the summer, the UK is getting prepared for an influx of superfans flooding in for the concerts, and Uber reveals they anticipate a significant rise in demand in bookings over the tour weekend.
Andrew Brem, General Manager of Uber UK said “Uber has seen first-hand the ‘Swift Lift’, with a noticeable rise in demand when the superstar comes to town, and we expect the same uplift in demand with her UK tour dates. With hundreds of thousands of fans attending the concerts every weekend Taylor is here, our riders will be depending on Uber more than ever to get home safely”.
As well as an anticipated increase in Uber rides, the ‘Swift Lift’ is also having an impact across a number of industries. Dayna Isom Johsnon, Etsy Trends Expert, shared: “With a community of over 97M buyers and over 8M sellers worldwide, Etsy is reshaping the way fans engage with their favorite artists. In fact, while Taylor was touring across the US in 2023, we saw a 22,313% increase in searches for concert inspired friendship bracelets* as well as a 43% increase in searches for friendship bracelet kits, and we anticipate the same trend will sweep Europe throughout 2024.”
Download the Uber app and pre-book your ride to be in with a chance of getting your very own Uber friendship bracelet this June.
