To keep sales on track, you have to be ahead of the trend curve. That’s why each year Gifts & Decorative Accessories conducts its own consumer research and writes robust product trend reports in its special October issue, Gift Book. Explore the digital issue to see the full research survey and dozens of trend reports. New this year, the editorial team hosted a webinar, “Exploring Key Trends for 2022,” to give an even more in-depth and engaging look at some of the biggest product trends for the coming year. Watch the recording here, to hear Editor in Chief Lenise Willis, Managing Editor Anne-Marie Earl and Senior Editor Alex Herring give their take on which candles, wall art, fashion accessories, kitchenware items and more will be in the most demand next year.
Participants in the live webinar were highly engaged and asked several questions. Not all questions were answered due to time, so a few of those have been listed below:
Q: Have you noticed if stationery is still trending upward into 2022?
GDA: It’s hard to answer that question with only one answer since the stationery category is pretty vast. But, in general, we do believe that stationery will continue to trend upward, especially as consumers seek a less digitally saturated world. The DIY and crafting movements are still strong, which will also help to fuel stationery consumption. When it comes to individual product trends within stationery: Paper calendars, both for the desk and the wall, are definitely trending upward, both as forms of organization and home décor. According to the Gift Book Consumer Survey, conducted by GDA’s Strategic Insights team, 47 percent of consumers surveyed said they planned to buy a calendar in the next 12 months; writing implements such as pens and pencils came in second with 35 percent of consumers saying they planned to make that purchase in the coming year. Birthday cards, particularly humorous ones, as well as special gift wrap paper, and journals for self-reflection and meditation will also hold strong.
Q: Are holiday cards waning?
GDA: Though birthday cards will likely remain the top-selling card category, in our opinion, we don’t think it’s fair to say that holiday cards are waning. Yes, historically they have in the last few years, but Millennials and Gen Z consumers have helped to give the tradition a bit of a rebirth in the last year and that is likely to lead to an uptick in holiday card sending.
Q: What are your thoughts on gnomes? They were trendy for a couple of years, but now seem to be bleeding into everything. Trendy or tired?
GDA: The overall consensus seems to be…both! The GDA editorial team thought that Christmas gnomes would play out after the first year or two, but instead of going away…they’ve actually infiltrated into fall décor, spring assortments and even Valentine’s Day offerings. It seems that many in the industry are ready to see them go, but they’re still selling really well and consumers seem to really love them. They’ll most likely stick around at least for 2022.
Click here to download a copy of the slides that were presented in the webinar.