Games, Playthings and Plush

Which Diversions (From page 161)

There are tiny little ones that sell for $10. They’ve been selling well.”

Merchandising toys is essential for drawing the attention of full- and pint-sized customers alike. Chadwick said at Growing Tree, they rely on grouping. “Especially for the baby items, we’ll group by age. We’ll also group like merchandise—the arts and crafts, stamping. Or, if we get a nice order by a particular brand, we’ll put them out together. We also have a really nice bookshelf—we get all our books through Usborne, and they’re usually all grouped by age.” Laramy also utilizes grouping: “We have the baby items up front, the small pick-up little items in the middle, the stuffed animals and Legos are in the back. We have all the construction toys in one spot, games in another. We’ve also found if we move something from the bottom shelf to the middle where it’s more at eye level, it will sell faster.”

Shopping for toys is normally an interactive experience for customers. COVID has changed that. Many retailers have come up with alternative ways to display and demo products. “Before the pandemic we used to have a lot of demos and interactive displays that encouraged hands-on interaction,” Springer said. “We’ve had to scale that back dramatically and have imple-

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mented more displays that show the product without inviting physical interaction. How your product is merchandised is paramount when it comes to helping your customer make an informed purchase that they will feel good about.” Everitt said her staff has made adjustments, as well. “We have displays out so kids can pretend-play. We put away a lot of the smaller, germ-grabbing stuff. Unfortunately, we’re still kind of holding off on the interactive displays. We do have a huge train display on the ceiling that runs throughout our store, and that’s still interactive. Kids can still come and push the buttons and turn on the lights.” As toy retailers gear up for the holiday season, they are keeping a close eye on back ordered products and item shortages. Everitt advised anyone seeking that one special item for a child from Santa to request it early. Laramy noted that despite the challenges all retailers faced over the past year, in some ways it’s been one of her best years in business. “The thing that’s been most amazing to us—there has been a tremendous amount of local support. Customers are coming to us instead of going to the big box stores. Our business has been up over the past year. I’d say if there was any trend right now, it’s supporting local businesses.” ❖