The latest consumer trend provides a hot, hot selling point for your store. “Small indulgences” are growing in popularity. These wholesale products are impulse buys that customers purchase without much second thought or guilt. For instance, people are very willing to buy chap stick or a small pack of cookies at the checkout lane in the grocery store without much consideration. It’s a very small “feel good” item that doesn’t leave enough of a dent in the wallet to matter.
Today’s consumers are taking this trend to the next level. The mindset is gearing toward answering the question, “what will make me feel good without breaking the bank?” The answer can be attributed to many wholesale products. These are very likely the products that you have, wish to have, or have overlooked for a while but want to revive. A few examples are counter top displays, collectibles, or lower dollar items that would have to be sold in bulk for a profitable ROI.
Many consumers are feeling the pressures of other monetary obligations. This isn’t a bad thing by any means and can be easily and profitably accommodated by retailers. It simply means that these consumers tend to spend less money on major items or large “feel good” items. Here is another example. Once willing to buy the whole set of collectibles, now one piece at a time is purchased. This sense of delayed gratification has less of an impact on consumer thinking and therefore makes it easy to return to your store every few weeks for the next installment.
It is very easy to adapt to this trend in consumer thinking. For example, breaking down a gift basket to sell the individual items makes it easier for customers to purchase each piece. However, keeping an assembled gift basket on display provides customers with the option to purchase the pieces as a set for themselves or others. In this way, your customers are more willing to buy and try new products. Once they are familiar with these products, they are exponentially more likely to return to buy the same products as gifts for friends or for themselves.
However you choose to adapt to this trend, let customers know that they are important and that you believe this. Making it easy to fulfill the basic need to take care of one’s self is the hottest selling point anyone could want in 2009.