With this year’s Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations likely to look a little different to usual, party and costume suppliers are in a strong position to make the most of consumers’ desire to keep the festive feeling as much as possible. With elaborate decor, elves on shelves and novelty family costumes, there’s every reason for the party industry to make this festive season a real celebration.
Though most consumers still don’t know under what circumstances they will be celebrating Christmas this year – or who they will be celebrating with – it’s already clear that many are embracing the festive season even earlier than usual.
“We expect this year to be a celebration of all things family, with consumers focusing on spreading cheer through fun and attractive decorations,” said Qualatex’s head of marketing Julie Dommett. “We expect the trend for the gifting of balloon bouquets to continue, through both deliveries and click-and-collect orders. Sales so far are showing cute balloon characters are much in demand.”
She continued: “Consumers are looking for ways to celebrate after this challenging year, and retailers have a vital part to play in lifting the mood. We have already seen the trend for elves in stuffing balloons return for another year, with savvy retailers promoting and taking orders well in advance, in early November.”
Julie expects to see personalised message balloons, character shapes and Christmas wreathes all doing well this year, with Northstar Balloon letters and numbers “being used to spell out ‘Goodbye 2020’ or similar phrases!”
Pioneer Europe has developed a suite of Qualatex social media marketing tools which all retailers can access online for free, helping them promote a wide range of seasonal options.
Read the full version of this article in the latest issue of Progressive Party Europe.
