Bundling Will Be Key To Moving Product in Q3 and Q4
There can be no doubt after the release of one important data point of economic data after another. The economy of the United States and many other countries has slipped either back into a recession or are right on the brink. Consumer spending declined for the first time since the end of the last recession in June and manufacturing is hitting lows not seen since the tail end of the last downturn. Consumers and manufacturing account for about 82% of the GDP and when they are both on the decline so will the larger metric follow in later periods.
This is bad news in the promotional products industry as we had just started to see a decent bump in the last 10 months. That bump became more of a wild ride in the last 2 months as sales have begun to slide very quickly. A majority of suppliers that anonymously responded to a recent survey indicated they are trimming sales growth plans for the remained of the year. While not a bad idea for distributors a key to success will be bundling. Leeds is providing a perfect opportunity by releasing the Rotate Memory Gift Set 8GB which includes everything needed for a proper executive gift. The pen is solid brass construction, the card holder is made from aluminum and the drive itself is one of the normal rotate versions that have been around for five or more years. All three are put into a box for ease of gifting. Thinking ahead Leeds has made the 4 and 8GB versions available already while eliminating the less sought after 512mb size. If purchased as individual pieces the client would pay almost 40% more versus the set. By combining the three biggest holiday gift items in one package they may have hit the ball clean out of the park so long as they can keep inventory in stock.
For those running on a slightly tighter budget or shipping over long distances they have another package for you. By removing the aluminum business card holder they reduce the weight while decreasing the size of the box. They also added a pen available in 4 colors set against a single colored - stainless steel- USB drive. The result is the Rockford Memory Gift Set 1GB which as you would expect includes the drive and a pen. For well under $9 a distributor can give away a pen and USB drive with laser engraving all in a convenient gift box. With color options that would make Rockford himself happy this set comes in at the value price point.
Can't find what you want bundled by your supplier? Make your own bundle kits by sourcing locally. If you like a Leeds padfolio but don't want to pay the premium for their pens pick one up from Hub Pen or Senator and do the insert yourself. In some cases they may even be obliged to do the inserting for you if the order is extremely large and profitable. Worst case you can factor in the cost of insertion locally as well as the increase in shipping costs to and from the location. You will often find customers will pay a premium just so they don't have to do the work on their end.