Special Expanded Zoo and Aquarium Section

shared out of state tourists are their largest customer demographic.

Young said their largest demographic are families with young children (under 5) and grandparents with grandchildren. She uses a variety of methods to find new merchandise to appeal to their guests. “I look through trade magazines to see what’s new and get ideas. Our photographer does a lot of production for us and gives us ideas for how to adapt things. I’ve reached out directly to vendors I’ve seen in magazines. We also belong to a zoo and aquarium retail group. Sometimes I’ll go to other zoos and see what’s selling there,” she said. Campbell stresses the importance of research. “It takes a lot of work, and we’re lucky to have a team of buyers to help us with this. You want to find products that educate kids as well as represent the zoo and aquarium,” she explained. She added, “We get a lot of multigenerational family groups. It’s fun to see the parents and grandparents sharing their own memories from past visits with their kids and grandkids.”

In many instances, zoos and aquariums use merchandise to further educate and support the welfare of one (or more) animal in the venue. Point Defiance Zoo does this with their tiger conservation initiative. “Tigers live in rainforests, and those forests are being destroyed to create plantations that produce Palm oil. We made the decision a few years ago to stop carrying items—mostly food—containing palm oil,” Campbell explained. “Even if the guests don’t know it, we’re helping support the conservation effort. We also hope that by taking an item home guests will have a tangible connection to the tigers that inspires them to help in the future.” Ramirez said at the Seattle Aquarium, “We use signage, media, and guest service to share our ‘Shop and Support’ message. When people make a purchase, they are doing so much more than just buying an item. They are helping us inspire conservation through a variety of ways. Seattle Aquarium can extend learning outside of our walls, by offering public programs such as our Beach Naturalists, Science Club, and Cedar River Salmon Journey. There is so much to learn here!”

Like other categories, souvenirs have their trends. Young said, “For us, we just started carrying Toobs [the little animals that come in tubes] and they’re going over great with our visitor base. We also sell Cutie Beans by Fiesta and they fly off the shelves,” she noted. Right now, Campbell said, “We see a lot of sales in kid’s jewelry. We have incorporated

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