Since this is the first week of October, it’s time to plan for the holiday that for a lot of folks, is the only one of the year that matters. And that holiday is known as “The Holidays” that is a mash-up of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, and all of those gift giving events that occur during the month of December.
This is not the first time this news service has reported upon the trend of this month, even though we’ve been presenting our low down for more years that we can find.
Just to give you readers an idea on how far we’ve been dipping our toes into the waters (so to speak), we’ve gone through our archives of the past twenty five years to provide proof.
Listed below in italics is an article we presented back in 2012 that gave the news of what to expect during that season. Keep in mind that back in ’12, the Great Recession was beginning to slowly level off, yet was still within a lot of people’s mists. So the spending frenzy had to take its toll. Also, buying stuff online was ramping up getting past its novelty stage to becoming a way of life. Lastly, much of the goods that were noted within our musings may not be available anymore or have since been updated. This is true with Apple’s iPhone as the iPhone 5 is no longer compatible with many of the newer apps that can be used with the phone, including its operating system that came with the device. Talk about planned obsolescence!
Anyway, here is what we had to say about the seasonal goings on…
Although Halloween is the next upcoming “holiday” that really matters, many retailers are gearing up for their supposedly biggest profit making season of the calendar year–the period between Thanksgiving Day and December 31, covering all holidays that are related to gift giving.
Although for many years, that term was once known as the “Christmas Season”. However, due to various forms of marketing plots, as well as holding on to a so-called politically correct stance that’s been around since the middle 1990’s, those last six weeks of the year is when retailers make it or break it when it comes to seeing black in their money coffers.
And one of the biggest retailers in the nation (if not the biggest in the country, if not the world), Walmart, if going full force when it comes to informing folks that they are ready, willing and able to serve them with it when it comes to selling goods. Their layaway plan, offered on toys, selected electronics and related stock, has been touted in media ads and signs found in stores since the Labor Day weekend. Toys and electronics are one of the biggest selling items in their stores in those coveted last six weeks.
It will be pretty obvious that Apple’s latest version of the iPhone, the iPhone 5, will be flying off the shelves then. (As of this writing, some two million pre orders for this device has been reported by way of a number of retailers, including Walmart) Toys will still be a hot item as kids will play with such devices as they slowly adapt from traditional playthings to toys geared toward adults. (i.e. iPhones and other smart phone brands!)
Last week, the retail giant had announced the top 20 list of what the store claims will be the must have toys for the 2012 Christmas, et. al. season. Since Walmart is one of the biggest sellers of toys in the nation, they should know their stuff and their target audience.
According to a statement by Anne Marie Kenoe, VP of Toy sales for Walmart, the retailer is committed to stocking the toys kids want at prices that are affordable. This would make sense since saving as much money as possible will be all the rage this year as its been for the past few seasons.
Nevertheless, the top 20 “hot” toys for this year will be (insert drum roll sound effect here)…
Toys for Boys
N e r f N – S t r i k e E l i t e H a i l – F i r e B l a s t e r
B e y b l a d e D e s t r o y e r D o m e P l a y S e t
H o t W h e e l s T e r r a i n T w i s t e r R / C V e h i c l e
A i r H o g s H o v e r A s s a u l t R a d i o – C o n t r o l l e d H e l i c o p t e r
F i s h e r – P r i c e I m a g i n e x t E a g l e T a l o n C a s t l e P l a y S e t
P o w e r W h e e l s D u n e R a c e r 1 2 – V o l t B a t t e r y P o w e r e d R i d e – O n
Toys for Girls
L a l a l o o p s y S i l l y H a i r S t a r M e l o d y B . S h a r p I n t e r a c t i v e D o l l
M o n s t e r H i g h H i g h S c h o o l P l a y s e t
L i t t l e P e o p l e D i s n e y P r i n c e s s S o n g s P a l a c e P l a y S e t
B a b y A l i v e B a b y W a n n a W a l k D o l l
B a r b i e S i s t e r s C r u i s e S h i p
H o l i d a y B a r b i e 2 0 1 2 D o l l
N o v i S t a r s D o l l s
R a z o r P o c k e t M o d E l e c t r i c S c o o t e r
Toys for all
F u r b y
L e a p F r o g L e a p P a d 2
V T e c h I n n o T a b L e a r n i n g A p p T a b l e t
L i t t l e T i k e s i T i k e s M a p
P l a y s k o o l R o c k t i v i t y W a l k N R o l l R i d e r
M o n o p o l y M i l l i o n a i r e s
(The press release did not state what constituted the order of the toys listed, either by sales, popularity, or factors making one toy on top of its list and the others following.)
It’s interesting to note that Mattel’s two standbys, Barbie and Hot Wheels, are still alive and kicking. (Barbie’s been around for 53 years, and Hot Wheels will turn 45 next Spring!) And the VTech Tablet (listed in third place in the “Toys for All” list) is a tablet that is more kid friendly that a traditional tablet (“iPad”), although many kids have used a real iPad for their purposes.
And outside of Walmart, Toy “R” Us, the leader of toy retailing, is also chomping on the bit when it comes to hawking toys for the season. The store is already taking reservations on their line of “hot” toys, making these items available for purchase when all of the buying frenzy begins!
It’s just a few weeks until Black Friday comes rolling around, and ditto for Cyber Monday. (November 23rd and 26th in case somebody’s keeping track!) So this would be the ideal time to make the mad dash to a retail outlet (in store or online) and start shopping. After all, this buying frenzy comes once a year, and it’s a great way to do one’s part to fight the recession. And by then, it will be known who’s gonna be king of the USA for the next four years, but that’s another matter as that stands!)
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