Ensure your retail business is equipped to ride out the latest crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
Have you been struggling to source wholesale toys lately?
The effects of the current global shipping crisis has been felt by retail businesses everywhere. As you can see in the graph below, the 2021 prices for shipping containers have spiked wildly, causing a corresponding inflation of product prices.
(Image Source: The Drewry World Container Index, which measures the price of a shipping container, is up 282% from this time last year. FreightWaves)
On top of this, we’re seeing raw material costs rising, which is further compounded by factory labour shortages. New stock being received is costing importers anything up to 25% to 95% more in recent months.
You can read more about how the toy industry has been impacted in this insightful Toy World article.
The overall result is an increased challenge for retailers to secure wholesale toy stock and keep display stands (or ecommerce websites) refreshed with the latest and trendiest toys. As we know, new and on-trend products are one of the key drivers for nurturing impulse purchases.
If you have managed to place orders for the stock that you need, you might also be contending with uncertainty about receiving deliveries on schedule. Then there’s the dilemma around how much of the price hikes you can pass on to customers while keeping retail prices viable.
It’s definitely the last thing we all needed on top of Covid-19 and the threat of snap lockdowns looming overhead. However, on the plus side, we are seeing continued customer demand as pressured parents look for more ways to keep kids entertained at home.
Maintaining healthy stock levels has always been a priority for Keycraft and we have consistently held our stock availability above our target this year. With a huge selection of wholesale pocket money toys currently in our UK and global warehouses, around 90%+ of our products are in stock, and we aim to maintain this level throughout these challenging times.
The many popular toy products we already had in stock before the price increases hit will last us for the majority of 2021. We’ll not be making any price increases on these. That means our clients can benefit from access to much of our toy stock at pre-crisis prices, ready and waiting for fast delivery across our global locations. Learn more about our shipping service here.
For those new toy products where we have unavoidably had to pass on some of the price increases, please don’t let this put you off buying. Try it, and if it really doesn’t sell, return it to us unpriced and in its original packaging and we’ll swap it for a best-selling item or item which sells well in your store.
On-trend and impulse toys, of which the Pop Its 2021 craze is a prime example, will help maintain in-store footfall and drive sales. Our POS solutions and display stands are also designed to increase impulse purchasing.
For ecommerce retailers, on-trend impulse toys help you capture demand from those customers who are proactively searching for availability online.
Parent appeal is an important tactic that works well to sell more traditional toys and at higher price points, so we recommend using this to your advantage right now. It’s based on the premise that parents and grandparents feel nostalgic and more trusting about classic toys they are familiar with. Our Majigg™ range is great for capitalizing on nostalgic appeal.
Parents and grandparents are also willing to spend more on toys that last longer and provide higher value. That includes toys that support child learning & development, like our Magnoidz™ science and discovery range.
Increasing awareness of sustainability issues and a desire to protect the planet is another key trend that’s been driving toy sales. We’ve seen a surge in demand for products like our educational and environmentally-friendly Living Nature™ range.
Or, if you’re searching for wholesale pocket money toys, try our GOGOPO™, Fumfings and LOLLIPUTTI™ brands.
Keycraft is here to support our clients and provide the benefit of our toy retail experience and know-how. We’re led by our Science of Impulse approach, for which we’ve become well-known.
If you need to speak to an account manager, please just get in touch with us. We’ll be delighted to help you devise a strategy and floor layout tactics that work best for your unique business and stores.
We are doing our very best to make sure our clients are equipped to ride out this storm as well as possible!
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