Are Sales of Keychains and Magnets Still Going Strong?

Asked if the sales of keychains and magnets are going well, and why, zoo store staff was mainly positive about these products.

At Newport Discovery Zoo and Aquarium in Newport, Ore., Zoo Director Blane Brown said “Both do decently for us, they are well priced. We had some magnets around $10 and people were all over them, however, if they are $15 people hold off. In both these categories, finding the right price point is the key. Some were namedropped and some were not; in magnets, the namedropped items do move the most quickly. With key rings, we don’t have any that are name-dropped, and how well they sell depends on the animal depicted. We had a kangaroo for a while before we were able to rehome him, and that made key chains with kangaroos on them move more quickly.”

At the Wildlife Safari in Winston, Ore., Store Manager Kelly Wiley explained that “We do sell a lot of name-dropped magnets and key rings. I think it’s the price point that really moves them, and they make great souvenirs.”

In Santa Ana, Calif., Alex Decker, manager of inventory for the Santa Ana Zoo reported “Magnets do well for us, but we don’t have a huge quantity of key chains, as they aren’t as popular.” Asked why that is the case, Decker noted “Our non-logo key chains tend to sell better, the plain one we have doesn’t sell well. The non-lo- go ones are more attractive to customers because they are in the shape of colorful animals. If we could find the right one, with the right space to name-drop, that would probably do really well for us, but right now the key chains of animals are difficult to name-drop.”

Nick Schmanek, retail operations manager at the Happy Hollow Zoo in San Jose, Calif., said the gift shop has a magnet with the zoo’s name on it that does well, and key chains with pictures of park animals but without a zoo logo or namedrop. “They all sell pretty decently because they’re easy small souvenirs, a quick grab and go for guests,” he explained. ❖