Annual Trends Report

A Look Back (From page 103)

Overall, many stores continued to sell puzzles and board games, interests that peaked during the most socially distanced period of the pandemic, but there was a groundswell of rising interest in outdoor toys over the course of the year. With three approximately 5,000-square-foot California stores, one in San Luis Obispo, one in Montrose, and one in Beverly Hills, Jillian Wahlquist , vice-president and co-owner of Tom’s Toys saw a major increase in outdoor toy sales. “Things like bug catchers, butterfly habitats, terrariums, and pool toys are really selling. Pool toys in fact are in short supply.”

Logo and licensed merchandise continued to be popular in 2021. At college stores, the focus was on the simple and comfortable, often dictated by weather. At California Polytechnic University in Pomona, Calif, Director Clint Aase said, “Traditional college sweatshirts and T-shirts are by far the bestsellers for us.” Erin Jones , manager of apparel and clothing at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vt., related that her best-selling apparel items were comfortable, cozy basics, such as name-dropped sweats from Champion and Gear. “The kids up here really enjoy the core basic items. The fashion-skewed items just don’t sell as well or as consistently and quickly.”

At fan stores, those located in sports stadiums often had merchandise leftover from a curtailed or nonexistent season in 2020 or early in 2021. At Phillies Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pa., Karen Gjellestad , sales associate at the Philadelphia Phillies NFL team store, speaking for Manager Megan Kelly, noted that store “had an abundance of the Phanatic plush left over from last year, so we haven’t gotten the new colors as yet. People are very much buying them now.” In fact, people were on a buying frenzy at many outlets selling licensed merchandise, a good thing for stores with merchandise previously unsold. In Omaha, Neb., at Husker Hounds, Manager Brett White concurred: “We’re still selling surplus plush from last year due to the pandemic.”

At the Buffalo Zoo in Buffalo, N.Y., Nicole Wurstner , director of retail operations, asserted that “Coming out of the pandemic, all our sales are definitely trending up, and sales of name-dropped items are definitely doing well. I think people are very interested in getting out right now and going places. They are also interested in supporting institutions like zoos. …They want to show that support by having something namedropped or with a logo on it to commemorate their visit and show that support.”

With Edible Gift products the trend toward locally made, freshly made or unique items, rather than pre-packaged items was strong. In Lincoln City, Ore., Shelby Wright , manager of Candyland, related the store’s top-sellers were all locally made or made in the shop. “Along with the taffy, it’s chocolates and homemade caramel corn. We make the caramel corn every morning… in an old school copper kettle.” At Stash gift shop in the central California beach town of Cambria, Calif., Operations Manager Monica Casas noted that “One of our best-sellers is an artisan, locally-made chocolate from Cellia Chocolatier in San Luis Obispo.”

Home décor items also trended to the local and handcrafted. At PopCycle in Tucson, Ariz., Store Manager Libby Tobey related that “What we’re seeing is that people are actively seeking more locally sourced home gifts, and that is especially true of things that are creature comforts. …There has been a lot of interest in nesting and improving the look of your nest. It started when COVID-19 first happened, and

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