2003 Best Merchandising Ideas: Picnic Products

Picnic products are often relegated to summer displays, but these products' versatility extends beyond your traditional picnic. Impressive gifts for any occasion, today's picnicking supplies are created for romantic days in the park, sporting events, concerts, or home entertaining. So whether it's 90 degrees or 20 degrees outside, you can successfully merchandise picnic products all yearlong.

Romancing the Category

Nothing is more romantic than a picnic for two, rendering upscale picnic products the perfect wedding gift. Use this year-round romantic occasion to merchandise picnic backpacks and accessories created with couples in mind.
During the cooler months, you can heat things up with a romantically designed Packed With Love Display. Accessorize the display with hurricane lamps suitable for indoor and outdoor use and gourmet food items, such as shelf-stable pates tapanades, and specialty crackers.

Select sets with wine accessories and complement your theme with a bottle of wine. Create a romantic setting and include signage that provides gift ideas for couples even on the coldest of days. Tips can range from "Create a picnic in the honeymoon suite" to "Plan an elegant overnight escape" to "Set a table by the fireplace." Call on your customers to pass on their most romantic cold-temperature picnic idea and develop a promotion to find the most unique picnic setting. Take the promotion one step further by asking customers to submit their most romantic menu to go along with the promotion. Honor the award-winning couple with a deluxe wine carrier; runners-up can receive accessories, such as picnic blankets, unbreakable dishes, or high-quality paper goods.

Sports Nuts

Unique lifestyle gifts for any outdoor enthusiast, picnic products are ideal for sporting events. From backpacks to coolers with built-in seats, this is a category that reaches out to the sports fan. Kick off football, baseball, or soccer season with a preseason promotion. As the pros are warming up their athletic abilities, prepare your customers for the season with your own lineup. Create a promotion with picnic backpacks, coffee totes, cooler chairs, sports backpacks, stadium seat totes, or cozy blankets that fit well with the tailgate or ballpark scene. Send a flyer that's similar to a ballpark program with the team members' stats to your customers to market the product features of your Season Lineup. Recreate the flyer in your store via a display that repeats these features and whose design has a sporty feel.

Promote these products outside your store with local events. If your community has a summer concert series, check into cross-promotional ideas with the event organizers. Or support local sports teams with discounts for coolers and other picnic products. Ask team management for a list of season ticketholders to whom you might send direct mail pieces that offer discounts on tailgating picnic products at the start of the season.

Set the Table

Even with all these new and improved picnic products on the table, don't forget to portray the traditional picnic in your store. Setting the table for a backyard event or even a faraway scene can create exciting displays.
Arrange your display in a well-lit area, being sure to open the picnic carrier so customers may view its contents. Use additional napkins, plates, and cutlery to set your picnic scene, but leave the display models intact. Use a blanket or a checkered tablecloth as a backdrop and potted flowers or greenery to add a touch of color. If you carry other outdoor-related products, make a statement by grouping these items together. Whether dining indoors or out, even your most discerning customers will remember your store as their resource for impressive gifts that provide unforgettable moments and enhance the enjoyment of the great outdoors.

Be sure to use signage to communicate picnic products' great gift appeal. The backpack equipped for two (or four) is a unique and romantic wedding gift; the sleek, sophisticated barbecue set is a perfect Father's Day present; and the cooler on wheels makes an impressive, elegant birthday gift for the gourmand.
High-quality picnic sets are packaged in high-gloss, colorful gift boxes that turn picnic carriers into ready-made gifts. Dress them up with a ribbon or a bow and you're all set. They also double as attention-grabbing signage since they feature a picture of the carrier, clearly displaying the items contained within the box. So, draw eyes to your display by using the colorful boxes in your presentation.

Quick Tips

High-quality picnic sets are packaged in high-gloss, colorful gift boxes that turn picnic carriers into ready-made gifts. Dress them up with a ribbon or a bow and you're all set.

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Create a promotion with your top picnic products that fit well with the tailgate or ballpark scene. Send a flyer that's similar to a ballpark program with the team members' stats to your customers to market the product features of your Season Lineup.

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Heat things up with a romantically designed Packed With Love Display. Accessorize the display with hurricane lamps suitable for indoor and outdoor use and gourmet food items, such as shelf-stable pates, tapanades, and specialty crackers.

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