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These Toys Are Keepers!
Attached Stroller Toys Add Profits
By Kim Hayes
Life keeps getting busier and busier. Babies are going along
with the trend, logging more miles by car and stroller than ever before.
Gone are the days when babies spent all day, every day, in their own homes.
Now, they go from home to daycare to the cleaners, the grocery store,
and out to dinner! They have play dates, "mom and tot" classes
to attend, and errands to run.
Although they're on the go, babies still need good
developmental toys to stimulate their senses and encourage development.
Match these two realities - a mobile society and baby's need for
play — and you see why attachable toys are showing up on more and
more strollers and infant carriers. Retailers who stock a wide range of
quality developmental attachable toys provide "fun on the run,"
for today's busy babies and their stressed out parents.
Developmental experts give further reason to provide interesting
stroller toys. Until they are 18 months or more, infants have a hard time
making sense of the busy scenes around them at the mall, on the streets
and in other action-packed places. They can't focus on all that visual
and auditory stimulation. That is why most stroller-bound babies are either
crying or asleep. Age-appropriate stroller toys, placed in clear view
and within reach, provide a focal point that helps keep baby awake and
entertained.
An effective infant stroller toy has the same characteristics as any good
developmental toy. It should stimulate baby's senses with pleasing
sights, sounds, patterns, and textures that invite curiosity. And, it
should have parts that move, bend, spin, roll and squish to help develop
baby's concentration and senses. Good infant toys are designed to
help parents, baby's first playmates and teachers, help their babies
develop intellectually, emotionally, and physically. A toy should appeal
to the parent as well as the baby, because, if Mommy and Daddy are interested
in the toy, they will be encouraged to take more time to play with it
with baby.
There's one more feature to look for in a good stroller toy: It
should have an easy-to-use, sturdy tether to keep the toy in place. There
are many strollers on the market, so the best fasteners adjust to fit
a wide range of stroller bar widths.
A complete selection of stroller toys includes activity centers that
attach to the bar in front of baby, as well as toys that can be clipped
or linked onto the stroller hood to act as a mobile, providing visual
stimulation for very young babies. Other attachable toys can be tethered
on the side of the stroller for infants to hold and manipulate. These
toys have many additional uses. They can be tethered to the highchair,
infant carrier, baby seat or swing. Also, toys with tethers work well
on umbrella strollers. Parents appreciate the convenience: If the toys
fall, tethers keep them in reach. Mommy and Daddy don't have to play
"fetch." The toys please baby, too, providing something to grasp,
mouth, finger, and look at on stroller rides.
When customers come in looking for a stroller, make sure stroller toys
are on hand to complement the purchase. Stroller toys make an interesting,
out-of-the ordinary shower or new baby gift. Put together a "traveling
gift basket" filled with stroller toys, a sun hat, blanket, and stroller
cup holder. This is a great gift for babies on the move. When someone
is purchasing a diaper bag for a shower gift, suggest adding a tethered
stroller toy as a fun accent.
The best way to demonstrate the value of stroller toys is to display
them where they will be used:
• Attach colorful toys to strollers on display in your store. Don't
forget double strollers. Older siblings need entertainment too as they
adjust to life with a new baby.
• Put a tethered toy on an umbrella stroller.
• Create a display of "Baby on the Go" items, including
diaper bags, infant carriers, sun hats, buntings, sunglasses, and, of
course, stroller toys.
• Show alternate uses by attaching soft stroller toys to infant seats
and swings on display.
• Set up a display of packaged stroller toys near the stroller section.
• Hook a soft attachable toy to the ' handle or a diaper bag that
is on display. Tethers make them perfect for play outside the home. They
are easy to keep track of!
• Offer a discount on the toys or a free stroller toy, with purchase
of a stroller of a certain value.
• Invite customers to bring in an old stroller as a donation to charity
when they purchase a new one. Provide a free attachable toy for each stroller
donated.
• Make sure your baby registry sheets include stroller toys.
Remember that a baby's job is to play. That is how they learn and
develop. Remind your customers with colorful displays of attachable stroller
toys and you will realize profits, too.
Editorial provided by Kim Hayes, Director of Marketing,
Sassy, Inc.
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