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HomeEXPERT PERSPECTIVE
What Will Consumers Buy this Holiday Season?
NPD's industry experts predict impulse shopping, “green” beauty, Internet-friendly toys, and the video games "console battle" will be among the big stories this holiday season.
Retailers can help consumers be more impulsive
There’s an opportunity being missed - impulse purchasing. It traditionally makes up a significant portion of holiday sales -- in past years, impulse purchases have accounted for up to 26 percent of holiday sales. In 2006, that figure dropped to 19 percent, and this year we’ll be lucky to hit 17 percent. Stores and brands need to identify or even create a hot product or products geared toward impulse purchases. Then they need to create a forum for salespeople to interact with customers, make recommendations, and turn those recommendations into sales.
“Green” will be the hottest shade in beauty this holiday season
Like many other industries, the Beauty industry will focus on natural, organic, and anything “green” for this holiday season. We will see it across channels of mass and prestige, from product ingredients to recycled packaging.
Of course consumers still want to look good while helping the planet! Upgraded-Mineral (or “healthy” makeup) and “smart” makeup, which brightens eyes and adjusts to individual skin tones, will be hot items this holiday season. “Good for you" skincare will also be en vogue as consumers look toward natural products that are backed by technological research and focus on environmental protection.
Internet-friendly toys gearing up for strong holiday sales and majority of consumers trust toy manufacturers’ response to recalls
The big trend to follow in toys right now is the integration of traditional toys with the Internet. From plush to dolls to building sets to trading cards, more and more toys are being designed to work in conjunction with the Internet, as toy manufacturers attempt to capitalize on kids' ever-increasing involvement with digital entertainment, and specifically, the Internet. Not all toys will marry these two successfully, so it will be interesting to watch which products resonate with kids this holiday season, and which don't.
The "console battle" will continue to be THE story in the video games industry through the holidays and well into 2008.
Now that all three "next-gen" systems have been in the Canadian marketplace for a year (plus), all eyes are on which system will emerge as the winner. Given the expansion we're seeing in the video games industry, there is no reason to believe that there has to be one winner. Multi-system ownership increases have shown that more and more consumers are willing to invest in multiple systems to indulge their gaming needs. Each system offers its own distinctive benefits to the consumer:
- Nintendo's Wii system marries fantasy with reality in its unique approach to gaming, and should be a hot purchase this year. Depending on availability, this console might turn into a difficult-to-locate product as we get closer to the end of December.
- The recent price drop by Sony and the introduction of a 40GB Playstation 3 will certainly appeal to a larger audience. With Blu-Ray technology built into the system, those who are looking for both technologies (Gaming and Blu-Ray) may view this as a bargain.
- Microsoft's XBox 360 system offers consumers the largest library of games and of course owns the exclusive rights to one of the top selling franchises in the industry, Halo.