Cabin Fever
As summer comes to a close and the kids head back to school, families are reflecting on the fun times they had over the summer. Family vacations, camp, picnics, etc. are still on everyone’s mind as the best times of the year.
One thing many families do in the summer is go to a summer home or the lake house. That is where the rustic nature feel comes into play. A lot of consumers want to hold onto that summer feeling of having fun with the kids at the lake, camp fires at night and roasting marshmallows. Kids who spent the summer at camp are feeling the same way; it was so much fun that they just don’t want to leave the memory behind.
While I was touring garden centers this summer, one major trend I saw was the rustic nature theme. Cabin-themed merchandise, rustic-colored (browns, greens, yellows, etc.) items being sold as well and people were buying them in droves. It is like the consumers wanted to take that cabin vacation and bring a piece of it home to remind them of their good times.
There are birdbaths, rugs, statues, décor and so much more that consumers are craving.
Garden centers have been jumping on the bandwagon and riding it all the way to the cash registers.
Yes, there always has been the hunting, fishing and log cabin trend but this is a major expansion on that. It is something families can sit around the dinner table and reminisce about or tell friends about when they come over for an end of summer shindig.
It is sad to see a good time end, but then you can start focusing your customers on keeping the tradition with the rustic merchandise in your store which just may lead them into the fall mums and décor and then maybe even in the holiday merchandise when it comes out.
When it comes to trends and what is new in retail, there is a world of new opportunities you can play off of. Just use a little creativity, read all sorts of magazines and books, watch all of the trend shows and see what the designers are working on. Go on instinct and creativity and you will be right on top of the trend every time.
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