I am careful and protective of my belongings and i believe most people are, too. That could be a problem — or it would be — if, as an industry, we only sold luggage.
My luggage tends to last awhile, and I travel more than most. To our industry’s credit, luggage continues to become more feature-laden and more durable, providing better value for consumers. But for many travel goods retailers, luggage is only part of the picture. Even with my heavy travel schedule, I might go five years between luggage purchases, which would hardly qualify me as a regular customer at the local travel outfitter. And as any retailer knows, repeat business is the foundation of almost every successful enterprise.
Thankfully, there are travel accessories.
By their very nature, accessories are highly specialized items. And for retailers and manufacturers, that’s magical. While a suitcase is versatile enough to serve for business trips and vacation adventures alike, a leather briefcase doesn’t work well as a take-along for Disneyland, and those purpose-built iPod holsters and eyeglass cases aren’t good for carrying much else. Compared to our luggage needs, we require a much broader range of accessories.
Accessories are also critical because we’re often driven to buy them for reasons beyond our control. Last week I had to replace my cell phone (not by choice — let’s just say a waiter and a pitcher of water conspired against me), which created a domino effect that netted me a new cell phone pouch and matching handbag. And this is how it often happens — a new laptop requires a new laptop carrier or business tote, a digital camera received as a gift needs a dedicated case, etc. There’s a lot more innovation in accessories, simply because our lives are becoming more saturated by technology. How many of us carried cell phones a decade ago? Or, for that matter, how many of us traveled with computers? And these new take-alongs necessitate other accoutrements like cable wranglers and chargers, cases and organizers.
During a recent stop at the local REI, which happened to fall on a crowded sale day, I couldn’t help but notice that only one person in line with me was buying luggage. Along with the occasional kayak or bicycle, the other 20 or so people were buying water bottles, travel guides, watches, Swiss army knives and other gadgets. In fact, every person in line was buying some sort of travel accessory. REI might be a travel store, but if my shopping visit was any indicator, they’re selling far more accessories than luggage.
Our appetite for accessories is far greater than our need for luggage, or even other travel goods. In addition to dedicated travel accessories like alarm clocks and toiletries, there are far more everyday accessories. Just have a look in your briefcase or purse — almost everything within qualifies as an accessory. Your PDA, that fancy pen, a leather organizer/datebook. And I’m willing to bet there’s at least one item in there that was purchased within the last year.
Luggage lasts, and if we’re doing our
jobs it’s going to last a lot longer. But while accessories might be durable as well, we buy a lot more of them, and shop for them a lot more often. Maybe not every day, but with travel accessories becoming part of our everyday existence, we’re making those accessories purchases at least a couple of times each year. And that’s enough of a foundation on which to build a base of loyal, repeat customers.
Editor-in-chief
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