Are you keeping up with trends?
Beyond fidget spinners and Pokémon™ Go
Fidget spinners taking over Generation Z characterized Summer 2017. At one point they accounted for 17 percent of all daily toy sales. Last summer, a similar phenomenon occurred with the release of the intensely popular Pokémon Go app. But what about the quieter themes that are everywhere you look — so much so that you almost don’t even notice?
The world is changing at an exponential pace and we know staying relevant to an ever-changing customer base is tough. When buying items for your redemption program, it can be difficult to know exactly what your guests are desiring.
You’re in luck. With a little homework, you can be the trendiest of trendy redemption programs around!
But wait, what is a trend, anyway?
A trend is defined as a current style or preference, or a general movement. Quick vocabulary lesson: A trend and a fad are two different things. A fad is something that erupts quickly but also dies quickly — like fidget spinners and Pokémon™ Go.
It’s important to capitalize on fads while they last, but be careful not to buy too deep or the product will not sell through before the fad fades.
Trends last longer and are important to incorporate into your redemption program. Trends are more broad, too. They are more of genres of things as opposed to something specific. For example, cacti, 80’s nostalgia and unicorns are all popular this year.
What are some easy ways to incorporate trends into your redemption program?
- For your redemption wall space, dedicate an area strictly to trends. You can include multiple trends in the same space. In this case, you could incorporate both cacti and unicorns in the same area. This is also a good place for fad items. Anything that is popular in the here and now.
- Meet Google Trends: the perfect resource to track trends across America. The source shows relative interest of a topic over time, based on the usage of keywords searched through the engine. You can explore any item by typing it into the search bar at the top of the platform. Here’s a search we did for “cactus” in the United States based on the “Shopping” category.
3. What patterns, symbols, textures do you see in fashion? This is a good indicator of what is currently trending. In addition, Amazon’s Interesting Finds does a wonderful job of collecting trendy items in one place.
The Toy Industry Association is another great resource to become accustomed to. Each year, at Toy Fair, they reveal the toy trends that will be popular in the upcoming year based on research. For 2017, the association highlighted Collectibles 2.0, Up & Active and STREAM as trends. They’re pretty spot on if you ask us!
If you’re looking for more of a customized answer, feel free to chat with one of our Customer Success team members. They work closely with our Product Solutions team to stay up-to-date on what’s hot for family and bowling entertainment redemption programs.
This article is by @Tabatha Bender, Connection Crusader at Redemption Plus.
Insights Empower is a collection of thoughts & insights to inspire, educate and connect the Family Entertainment & Bowling Center industry. From the team at Redemption Plus, est. 2017 🎉
Visit us at RedemptionPlus.com for more ways to #win.
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