NSG/Babyland Fife

Retail

NSG matters

Babyland Fife’s Yasmin Ali with Babylicious’s Ian Davidson having fun checking out new products at Cosatto

Product Launcher chats with Babyland Fife’s Managing Director and NSG’s Founder/ Trade Administrator, Yasmin Ali to find out how NSG members currently view new products within Nursery.

Why are new products important to nursery retailers?

Is this a trick question? No one wants to see the same thing over and over, everything has to evolve. Regulations change regularly, styles, fashions, new technology - new product and innovation is vital for us to also be constantly updating and keeping to the forefront.

What benefits do new products bring to retailers shop floors or websites?

New products enable us to ensure we continue to refresh, innovate and appeal to new people. We have to move with the times to attract a constantly changing customer base.

Do you feel that new products reflect current consumer trends and buying habits?

Covid has put such a spanner in the works across the board. At the moment nothing reflects lockdown...customers need to get back into shops! Right now they are seeing what we are presenting to them on social media and websites. I think people are incredibly confused, you’ve got customers asking for comparisons between £200 budget travel systems and a £2000 designer one - they both do the same thing and continually ask what is the difference. The difference is visible ... but we need to be able to place the product in front of them!

When it comes to new products, how important is style, function and value?

All three are important. However, money is usually is the biggest factor, but customers are looking at all three aspects, as are we retailers. You don’t want something like looks nice but, for example, has batch after batch with quality issues.

Is there a new product that has previously been launched that is now a must have with consumers?

Covid has put such a spanner in the works across the board. At the moment nothing reflects lockdown... customers need to get back into shops!

Do you feel we have sufficient innovation with regard to new product launches?

Yes! Car Seats. Maxi Cosi, for example, have just been so busy the past few years, the release of the 360 family sees fantastic innovation, and the new Coral is an improved version on an already fairly new product.

At the moment nothing is sufficient though and we’ve had to make the most of what we have. Hopefully we can resume some degree of normality so we can begin to see what our suppliers have up their sleeves next.

This lockdown has seen consumers researching hugely online. I’ve seen a lot of comparison between baby nests/sleep supports, a big push in sales in the Purflo sleep range - given the quality and the information behind the product it’s become a must have. Also the Snuzcloud - again it’s got to be down to research, it’s not a brand new product and we’ve experienced that people know the product as soon as they see it.

What impact does social media have on new products to gain consumer awareness?

It’s huge. Consumers follow brands, retailers and people of ‘interest’ - and it’s interesting to see how each of these categories impact awareness. I do think