Order Up!
Meredith Schwartz -- Gifts and Dec, 1/1/2012 2:00:00 AM
It's often said at Tradeshows that "bodies are down but orders are up." However it can be hard to tell whether vendors are just putting a brave face on things or, even if they're right, whether they're representative. It's easy to tell at a glance that the lines for the lunch tables and restrooms are shorter; checking whether the bottom line is too is trickier for an outside observer, especially when even the vendors themselves may not have had time to add up yet - and may be influenced emotionally by a single big sale or a quiet sales floor into over-or underestimating where they really stand. There's a reason they say "the plural of anedcote is not data."
However now we have hard data on the average order size at three major gift markets, both winter and summer, for the past three years, thanks to the Brandwise Gift & Home Index. And one thing is clear: in any apples to-apples comparison (e.g., comparing the same marketplace at the same time of year), the average order size has increased, without exception.
Following the Money Trail
This occurred at a time when, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, consumer spending was falling (2 per-cent in 2010 and 2.8 percent in 2009.) So we know it's not that the gift stores were picking up new business from a rising tide that raised all boats. Rather, as some gift stores stopped coming to market, others, at least in part, picked up their business.
This is disheartening news for those who preferred to believe the drop in market attendance was more due to stores cutting corners on how many people each sent than going out of business altogether - since most stores in the past may have sent more scouts but didn't give them buying authority, increased order sizes means fewer buyers, not just fewer lookers.
However in the long run it is excellent news for the viability of the gift business, because it means we're keeping those dollars in the industry rather than losing them to Kindles, health care or any of the other non-gift and home categories competing for a still scarce share of the consumer's wallet.
We would love your feedback!
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Brandwise: Orders Up at Every Show
Mar 25, 2010 -
Measuring the Market
Nov 23, 2011 -
Ideation roars into Indy
Jun 22, 2010
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Wright Labels
Bill and Tom Wright founded Wright of Thomasville in 1961 on the idea that printing was a creative medium and the belief that "a promise made is a promise kept." The Wright brothers focused their attention on providing exceptional printing for the... more
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