In recent tracking of Art & Craft retailers email campaigns, some notable trends are emerging. We’re following these developments closely and we think it’s so important to note that we’ve included a new section in the MacPherson’s Back-to-School Buyers Guide. It’s chock full of Trend opportunities to inspire and activate consumer engagement in your store. Look for it in your mailbox soon!
Retailer Marketing Trends
Print advertising, in store flyers & newspaper ads, continue to be a challenge as costs rise and circulations fall. The trend seems to be moving in the direction of retailers actively building their email mailing list and mailings going out more frequently (at least 3 days per week). A superficial look at recent retailer activity shows that some of the best practices currently employed are uncluttered and simple visual presentations with many product offers or in-store events that can be scrolled through. Product drivers such as stretched canvas, Buy one, Get one (BOGO), Pencil Sets, Drawing media at the top of the list and repeated often. Here’s an example of an impactful and uncluttered email campaign from a DIY retailer serving another channel.eBlast Example
Impactful Store Windows
Notable quote found in ColArt’s booth at this year’s Paperworld show in Frankfurt; “… 52% of consumers are more likely to enter a store if there is an impactful window display” and “… 75% of consumers informed their friends about a specific store because they were impressed by the signage” – Kissmetrics
Protests & Political Activism
For many citizens recent national events have sparked a desire to publicly state opinions and get involved in the national debate. Marches, rallies and meetings are peppered with DIY signs expressing all sorts of points of view. The common connection for retailers who sell art supplies is the need of the sign makers to have the brightest, most sparkly sign materials from the simple Sharpie to paints brushes, poster & foam board, stencils, glitter glue and anything you can think of to make a distinctive graphic impact.
Short Term Trends
DIY Slime Making
Tons of videos showcase simple and safe recipes for making your own highly personalized and creative slime. Be aware that there is some controversy about the use of Borax in slime recipes. Erroneously it has been reported that Borax contains Boric acid. According to scientists from the University of Kansas this is not the case and most slime recipes are safe.
Bob Ross
Bob Ross complete with his “fro” and mellow style is back with the announcement of his full video lesson catalog available on Netflix Streaming. We are seeing classes and demonstrations popping up in the most trending and urban areas.
Hand Painted Rocks
In an era of high profile incivility and public unkindness a kind of “flash trend” has emerged. As far as we can tell it began in Washington State and it’s simple; find a rock, paint a rock creatively, and then hide it so it can be discovered to bring a smile to others.
Longer Lasting Trends
Personalization and Making
Young professionals are voluntarily choosing to live in trendy urban areas across the country. They like the cultural benefits that cities bring, but they are also keen on things they make to improve and enrich their personal spaces.
Personalization and Making Part 2
Tools that make bringing creativity to life easy and fun are a hot trend in and of themselves. At the top of this list are paint markers. There are paint markers and then again there are paint markers that people love. Posca seems right at the top of that list. Watch this video and see if you don’t fall in love!
DIY Planning & Journaling
The most widely known in this category is called Bullet Journaling®, a popular form of list-keeping, especially among the online community.
Sketching & Drawing
The easiest way back into creativity for young, busy and successful millennials is most often what they loved doing during their school years; coloring, doodling, sketching and drawing. For this crowd it helps if in-store Sketching and Drawing departments are simple to navigate, break down intimidation and feature specific areas for getting started.
Hand Lettering
Another Sketching & Drawing rooted trend that’s on fire is Hand Lettering which may be a rebellion against the cold, sleek, digital environments we find ourselves in. It’s appearing everywhere, giving rise to tons of videos, store demos and classes. The beauty of Hand Lettering is its flexibility and accessibility. Almost anyone can do it!
https://youtu.be/_CMQG0uJss4
Shibori Tie Dyeing
Shibori is an ancient, easy and distinctive cloth dyeing technique from Japan dating back to the 8th century. Most commonly done with indigo dyes, naturally vibrant and rich. Here is a simple and captivating demo.