Twice a year, Beth and I attend the wholesale gift market in Atlanta.  Every July we go to observe trends, find new Alabama made products, and select our packaging for the upcoming holiday season.  We made three interesting observations that seem to be an indicator of the times.   

1.    The holiday décor reflected the country's mood.  The predominant color scheme was traditional red, green, and gold.  Gone were the trees decorated in turquoise, lime, or silver. This seems to indicate that people desire to create a warm, homey environment.  Similarly, we selected holiday gift packaging for this year that reflects this trend.  We will be using hearty woven baskets and extra-wide ribbon in traditional colors.  
 
2.    Another sign of the times, the typical crowd was not at Market.  Fewer companies were buying, and those that were buying expected discounts.  It seemed a given that the upcoming holiday season would be light.  When polling our corporate customers, their comments mirror our observation.  Most still plan on giving gifts to their clients, but are scaling back.  Instead of spending $75 per gift, they're going to spend $50 per gift.  And we've noticed an increase in the number of our corporate customers sending client appreciation gifts outside of the holiday season, such as at their fiscal year end.  Companies want to strengthen client relationships while making the biggest impact with their marketing dollars.  A couple of advantages: 1) The gifts are memorable.  They're not mingled with gifts received from other companies during the holidays.  2) The message is clear, "You're important and we appreciate the business you've given us".   

3.    We saw fewer new vendors than in previous Market trips, but an area where we observed an increase in offerings was in the Collegiate product category. This could be an indicator that people want to connect with their past, plan on staying home to watch their team, or simply desire to exhibit team pride.  We won’t be buying the new plastic tissue covers we saw (yuck), but we did find several new collegiate items that we will be adding this fall. 

Do any of these observations mirror your personal feelings and experiences?  Click on Add Comment below to respond.

 
Sherry