We have resisted the temptation for a traditional Father’s Day gift range in the newsagency this year. Instead, we have shone a light on existing products and categories in-store that reflect the diversity of father’s we can serve.
Take dads who are gamers, geeks, nerds or similar in terms of cliched labelling. They could get more pleasure out of a Warcraft blind box – such as you can see in the photo – as a gift than a book, a voucher, socks, underwear or a coffee mug.
The kid buying dad a Warcraft blind box is making a thoughtful purchase, demonstrating they know their dad and his passion. Any dad into Warcraft, and there are plenty, would be happy with the blind box as the figurine in the box could sit in their car or on the desk at work as a reminder of the cool kid they have raised for them to know this is a perfect gift.
In this era of fascination with pop culture, it is items like these warcraft blind boxes that are ideal as a pitch for Father’s Day rather than the traditional you find many gift wholesalers pitching.
I think we need less in our newsagencies of the traditional for major seasons like Father’s Day and more of the quirky collectible that respects the passions of the recipient. That is why the kid giving their dad a Warcraft blind box is likely to have done better than a sibling giving the same dad a coffee mug – unless it is a Warcraft coffee mug … all this depends on the dad being a warcraft fan.
We don’t have to understand these things for us to engage as retailers. But we do need to be guided by people who understand them.
Gifts are changing, rapidly. Yu can see this through the rapid change in gift shops around the country. They are closing and opening at a fast rate, as are wholesalers as the supply side goes through consolidation. I think those changes are occurring because businesses have failed to keep up with the most sought after trends, licences that appeal to deep and long term collector interest.
I am following a similar approach with cards too, promoting quirky cards and licenced cards. While I still have cards with yachts and golf images, I’m not featuring these in out of store promotions as they give off a traditional image I don;t ant to be connected with when promoting the business to people who do not currently shop with us.