A day does not go by without a raft of articles on how people are adjusting (correcting) their purchase behavior and decisions in this recession. Big purchases are on hold or deeply scrutinized. We are vacationing at home, driving less, and connecting more with family. Needs and wants are now extremely well defined. However, some behavior is hard to eradicate. We still need our downtime (in a downturn). That is why some businesses have historically performed well in poor economic conditions.

Pet Observation Porthole

If you read our paper on recession marketing, you will see that people tend to flock to movies, alcohol and tobacco, and in this particular recession chocolate is hugely popular (I forecast huge strains on healthcare in the coming years). But there is another trend seemingly unique to this current climate, what I call, “comfort hard goods”. Just look at the performance of the Snuggie (or backward robe or ripped sleeping bag). Everyone has had fun making fun of it but it is selling. It represents comfort, nesting, cocooning and relaxation. Sure it is using advertising reminiscent of Phil Kives’ K-Tel International (the originator of the info-commercial from Winnipeg) but it works.

Edge Baking Pan

A recent article in the New York Times by Sarah Kershaw on SkyMall, the catalogue in the seat pocket on many US airlines, does a great job in further illustrating this trend. SkyMall has a circulation of 20 million, features over 2,000 products, and reaches 688 million bored travelers annually. “If there is any piece of writing that defines our culture, I submit it’s the SkyMall catalog,” the author Bill McKibben wrote in a 2006 essay in Orion magazine. “To browse its pages is to understand the essential secret of American consumer life: That we’ve officially run out not only of things we need, but even of things we might plausibly desire.”

Keep Your Distance Bug Vacuum

Consider some of the product offering: the Pet Observation Porthole ($29.95), a clear plastic dome mounted in a fence, the Keep Your Distance Bug Vacuum ($49.95), which can suction up the creepy crawlies from a relatively safe distance, and the Edge Baking Pan so the whole brownie is soft and delicious. The recession has had influence on the SkyMall line-up as Ms. Kershaw’s article points out, “With fewer people flying or spending money, the economic downturn may have tilted the catalog’s sales slightly more toward utilitarian items — the No. 1 best seller this year is a 10-by-22-foot square of polyvinyl floor covering for the garage ($359), and the first truly frivolous item, the Giant Cupcake Pan, comes in at No. 17.”

Christine A. Aguilera of SkyMall

Christina A. Aguilera, SkyMall’s President is quoted in the article, “Even when times are tough, I think Americans are still optimistic about the future and interested in products that can make their lives a little easier. There is no secret category or line of goods that are recession-proof. What is recession resistant is innovation.” Interestingly, Sky Mall is into its own marketing innovation having hired an official corporate Twitterer this January. According to Ms. Aguilera, the tweets generated enough interest in the Wonder Woman Cuff bracelet ($24.95) that sales of the item more than doubled – a questionable purchase in a recession but then again it may allow women to fend off negative economic forces.

The New York Times article quotes Kit Yarrow, a professor of psychology and marketing at Golden Gate University, “Their audience is really looking for relief, not just something to alleviate boredom, but also a little bit of fantasy,” she said. “If you look at the products in there, they are lifestyle and gadget-oriented, both the sort of thing that transports you in a way.”

Zombie of Montclaire Moors

I am a long time business traveler and have constantly shook my head when I perused SkyMall. Initially when I pick it up I am excited and expect that I will be placing a significant order. By the time we touchdown, rationale behavior has won out (I have never purchased from SkyMall but Brookstone has got some business from me). I recognize the need for escaping the day-to-day and that some purchases may have either fleeting or lasting benefits. It will be of ongoing interest to document what people choose to buy in this recession. But I must confess on my last flight on American Airlines, I almost made my first Sky Mall purchase: the Zombie of Montclaire Moors, at $89.95, a ghoulish,13-pound lawn sculpture. However, it was not the recession that ultimately stopped me, it was anticipating the reaction of my wife.

All photos from New York Times article

Jeff Swystun, Chief Communications Officer, DDB Worldwide

Posted on May 4, 2009 7:31 PM | Permalink

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