Great Additions to the Fun Plush and Toy Sales at Water and Amusement Parks

By Karen Appold

As the retail and purchasing manager at Nickelodeon Universe, a seven-acre theme park in the center of Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., Mary Nickelson knows what makes plush and toy sales successful—variety, location, and price point. “Strategically placing a mix of plush near our store entrances attracts more customers and drives sales,” she said. “We display a mix of classic style plush along with newer, trendy styles to appeal to a wider audience.”

Her selection includes a large range of price points which appeals to all customers. “The wide variety of plush catches customers’ eyes— both young and old alike. When they enter the retail space, they pick up, touch, squeeze, and lovingly hug the cuddly plush products. While this helps drive sales—the smiles are priceless,” Nickelson said.

Along these lines, Levi Tobias , merchandise manager at Worlds of Fun & Oceans of Fun in Kansas City, Mo., said that each of the parks’ 15 stores have a variety of plush and toy items available in a range of price points. “We specifically focus on offering a variety of offerings that appeal to any age demographic because although children may be the primary consumer, you’re missing an entire market segment if you only focus on kids,” he said. “You want every single customer to be drawn to some plush or toy item—whether it’s for themselves or someone else.”

For Susan Vaslev , co-owner and buyer at the Enchanted Forest Theme Park in Turner, Ore., boosting sales of plush is all about visibility. “Placing items at children’s eye level works well,” she said. “Kids love to touch and interact with items. Having unpackaged toys displayed allows them to do this.”

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