Target has had a difficult start in the 2024 holiday shopping season, but an exclusive offering from Taylor Swift could turn things around.
The red-dot retailer will be the only store where Swifties will be able to get their hands on “The Eras Tour Book,” a celebration of the two-year pop culture event that ends on Dec. 8 in Vancouver. The book goes on sale Friday in stores and via the company’s web site on Saturday.
Don’t expect any Black Friday or Cyber Monday discounts, either. Since Target is the exclusive seller of the Eras book, it has no incentive to go below its $39.99 suggested price.
Swift is self-publishing the 256-page book, giving her complete control over where it is distributed. Expectations are high. The Wall Street Journal reports the initial print run is 2 million copies. If it sells out that run, it will leap to the top of the sales charts for 2024—and be one of the best-selling books of the past six years—and it will do so without the aid of Amazon, Walmart or Barnes & Noble.
The Eras tour grossed over $1 billion and set numerous records. Last year alone the tour sold 4.3 million tickets, which is more than the number Elton John sold cumulatively on his five-year farewell tour. A movie about the tour quickly became the biggest concert movie ever.
For Target, the exclusive offering couldn’t come at a better time. The retailer reported weaker-than-expected earnings last week and offered a somewhat gloomy outlook for sales. Sales have been weak at the chain for the past two years.
A Taylor Swift exclusive alone won’t cure those ails, but it will bring people into the store. And to encourage those Swiftie shoppers to stick around and buy more, Target plans to play Swift’s music in its stores Friday.