How to Buy Stock According to Interior Trends

Last week we experienced somewhat of a watershed moment. Nothing to do the high drama of the political earthquake that shook the country to its core; but a defining moment none the less: we received our first Christmas lead.

When pulling together some interesting research on the top trends for Christmas 2017, we realised that there are two questions that we are always asked by our clients. These are: “Can you tell me about any forthcoming trends that the journalists are working on?” and “Am I too late to get coverage for X products?”

The true of the matter is earlier is always better as far as Christmas is concerned. Those of our clients who send over gorgeous seasonal imagery and product shots in June have, understandably, many more potential placements than those who only start planning in the autumn.

So this week’s blog post is all about how to shop for stock with the latest trends in mind, and when to get those products (especially images!) into our hands.

Monitor PANTONE’s colour reports and Trend Bible – As the biggest trend analysts, it is pretty certain to say that whatever they predict as the next big colour, material or ‘look,’ will be the next big colour, material or ‘look’. When a shade is bestowed the honour of ‘PANTONE’S Colour of the Year’ it is a sure-fire catalyst for sell-out, as customers want to make sure they are one step ahead of the pack - even if the shade is greeted with mixed views (look at 2017’s Evergreen for an example).

Click here to check out our Pinterest Trend Boards!

Interior Blogs - Reading interior blogs is just as important as monitoring the trend analysts these days. These guys are interior fanatics and spend all their time searching for emerging talent and fresh new design. As more people rely on getting their news and interior inspiration online, you can bet your bottom dollar that your customers will be taking their word as gospel.

Tip: Use bloglovin’ to help keep tabs on your favourite blogs

Trade Shows - The most obvious answer to this question is of course, attending trade shows. Not only are trade shows good for you to meet your suppliers and see what new products they are launching, but they all have sections on the most coveted products for the forthcoming season, plus talks and seminars on business development, marketing and trends. Each year, we make sure we attend these shows and talks so we can see what’s new and make sure we are giving our clients the lowdown on the industry.

The next big trade show for us is Top Drawer, in September – Tweet us if you’re going!

One vital point I must make is as soon as you acquire new stock it is important that you send through high res cut out images of the products ASAP so we can begin to pitch these in to journalists!

Publications work to a varying degree of lead times, with the longest lead monthlies working up to 6 months in advance and the shortest lead newspapers working just weeks and sometimes days in advance of publication.

For example, the longest lead publications will start putting to bed their Christmas issues in July; therefore we will need your images sent across to us by June (hot-foot!).

To give you an idea, here are the types of features that journalists from short and long lead publications work on around the start of summer:

How to promote your stock according to interior trends:

So, you’ve been trend savvy with your purchases and pro-active in displaying them on your site; now it is the time to promote these products smartly and make it easy for your customers to swing on by and press ‘Buy’.

My favourite tip is if they fit into a particular trend which is doing the rounds in the press, or an event that is looming, (e.g. Jungalow), why not create a round-up of these items and promote it on the homepage.

Here is a great example from Cult Furniture:

Hyperlink a nice lifestyle image or create styled shot of said products to a search selection on your site.

(This is also a great idea for products that have been featured in the press!)

Still want to know more about the latest trends? Please email us for a copy of our complimentary quarterly Trend Report.