The last couple of years have been a time out for many people – Covid restrictions have cramped their style. But at the same time, lock-downs, shelter-in-place, and teleworking have given many a taste of a different lifestyle – or the desire to change their lives.
Many who were locked down in small city apartments have decided they need the Great Outdoors. That means all kinds of kit is selling well, from backpacks to hiking poles – there are even specially adapted backpacks for taking your cat hiking! There seems to be a particular craze for kayaking.
You may think this doesn’t apply to your business but there are several less obvious aspects of this trend that might. For instance, water bottles have seen sales rocket. If you sell water bottles, make sure your keywords include outdoors-related uses (such as camping, hiking).
Fitness at home has been another booming market. Athletics and leisure gear has sold well – sports clothing has done particularly well because the work-from-home trend means people can wear it all day. Fitness bands, wearable devices like fitness trackers, pedometers, and yoga mats, have all done well.
And “work from home” has led to quite a lot of buyers needing to equip a home office. A lot of that need could include electronics, but there are plenty of other things you might need. For instance, vacuum coffee cups, notepaper, desk tidies, and charging stations are all areas where there’s strong demand from homeworkers. Making home working more comfortable can also involve new seat covers, posture adjustment cushions, wrist supports for preventing repetitive strain injury, and so on.
Redecorating has also been a strong trend. Real estate agents report strong demand for rural or leafy suburb properties coming from apartment dwellers who need more space – but some people are staying put and just making their homes more attractive. You may not want to ship big items like new kitchen chairs or mattresses, but decorative accessories such as lampshades, LED trees, throws, and rugs are all potential ways to cash in on this trend.
Linked to home working and moving out of the city, a newer trend is the Great Resignation – increasing numbers of people quitting their high-pressure jobs to do something else with their lives. That’s had a couple of impacts; first, customer service for many companies is getting stretched, with labor as well as materials shortages; and secondly, a lot of consumers are reassessing their lives and their bank accounts.
It’s difficult right now to predict what result the Great Resignation will have on consumer markets, but here are our first thoughts;
• people looking to live a more meaningful life – interest in spirituality, environmental issues, analog not digital stuff;
• repairing and upcycling rather than buying new could become a focus – spare parts, toolsets, refills, accessories will sell well;
• more small business creation – business services, training, planners, agendas, tax software will all be needed.
And finally, inflation is definitely here, with the prices of most everyday products headed up, and particularly energy prices. That means the monthly budget might not stretch as far as it used to, so many consumers will be looking for ways to get more bang for their buck.
This is your opportunity to create discount offers and multi-packs that offer your buyers a real savings. It’s also an opportunity to build your email list and social media footprint by offering exclusive deals (using coupons on Amazon).
And of course, you’ll want to do your own research. Look at new releases, and the ‘movers and shakers under the bestseller rankings on Amazon, and read reviews on the hot items. If buyers are trying to solve a particular problem, how can you help them to do it?