Images_Digital_Edition_January_2019

KB BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT www.images-magazine.com 118 images JANUARY 2019 telling that YR stores have partnered and launched that concept for other shops to capitalise on too. I can imagine plenty of possibilities and uses for this technology and see it dominating in any market where it is utilised, especially in high traffic areas like a shopping mall, sporting event, concert or anywhere where people want to create a memory and capture it on a shirt. Shoppers come away with something unique to them, not unique to the destination. Data is still king Run any social media ads lately? Chances are you watch your response rate to a post as closely as you watch the returns on your stock investments or your favourite sports team’s statistics. We all compete with the noise online. How many ads do you think the average person is exposed to daily? Thousands, probably. Yet, there you go again buying another round of Facebook ads because the software company told you too. It’s as addictive as buying a lottery ticket. It has become so complicated to understand what works and what doesn’t. Where should you spend your marketing budget? The only way you are going to know is by digging into your own stats. Here’s a future trend: it’s not going to get any easier. So, be sure you have your Google analytics set up correctly and your Facebook pixels on the payroll, so to speak. The canary in the coal mine is the data, but most shops don’t do a good enough job hooking up their online presence or finding ways to interpret the data. I don’t see this trend changing any time soon. Sustainability is on the rise I predict you are going to see a bigger wave of sustainable products or ideas this year. People are on board with linking what’s good for the planet with what might be good for business too. The decorated apparel industry is no exception. Garments will continue to have more organic, recycled or repurposed content. Proof of this is how Adidas is continuing to sell shoes made from recycled ocean plastic. With over a million shoes constructed with this material source, it’s setting trends for other companies to follow. Shirt companies are adding more sustainable fabric content to their blends. (Tri-blends are here to stay it would seem.) Personally, I’d like to see them start using hemp. Ink and chemical companies will continue to push out better products that have fewer ingredients that are harmful to the environment or us. More universal equipment add-ons or products When equipment manufacturers consider designing and marketing a new product, there are some ideas that are off the table. Their goal, after all, is to release a product that will sell to the most people in their market. The Lawson Lock-N-Go system allows for the simultaneous registration of multiple screens Stahls‘ and YR Store have collaborated to create an onsite fulfilment centre