Highlights of the Decade
By Staff -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 7/1/2007
In the late '70s, the gift industry coped with the energy crisis. Retailers shortened store hours and switched to energy-efficient lighting, while sales reps got special exemptions from gas rationing. Meanwhile, inflation affected prices and the ability to offer credit to customers — and get it from vendors and banks. But inflation wasn't all bad for retailers: Americans, convinced things would only get more expensive, went on a shopping spree in 1978. The price of sterling silver soared in 1980, a mixed blessing for flatware retailers. Also soaring was the popularity of collectibles, especially plates (like one featuring King Tut).
The gift business saw a wave of trade show growth, with expansions at the Atlanta Market Center, Chicago Merchandise Mart and Dallas Market Center, as well as new centers in Chicago, Kansas City and L.A. — not to mention the National Stationery Show's move to New York's new Javits Center. In the '80s, the newly christened Yuppies became the customers to chase.
Hot licenses included comic strips such as Cathy, Ziggy, and Garfield. Star Wars, along with the Lord of the Rings, spearheaded a trend of science fiction, fantasy and superhero themes. Other trends included disco, astrology, rainbows, dinosaurs and, later, neon.
Tabletop profits went into free fall in 1986, as the Reagan administration moved to “undercut a decade's worth of consumer protection legislation.” Many concerns of the decade seem modern: the environment, counterfeiting and unfair foreign trade. Working brides and singles reshaped shopping for the home, and lifestyle stores were also big. There was even a Baroque trend, inspired by the film Amadeus.
The next big things were POS computer systems and electronic shopping via home computer, store kiosk, or TV. There was even a hint of the coming email revolution. Said Gifts & Dec in 1985, “Personal computer users can now send instant letters all over the globe via the expanded Tina International Message Service — for less than the price of a hamburger.”
