Retailers Push Patriotism
Reuters reports that Target, Sears and other leading U.S. retail chains
are betting Americans will want to display their patriotism this Independence
Day more than ever before. With memories of September 11 still fresh, retailers
see a fashion statement in the red, white and blue.
“This is flag-waving time and retailers are exploiting that in some ways,”
Kurt Barnard, president of Barnard’s Retail Consulting Group, says. “It’s a
development which harks back to September 11. But red, white and blue sells.”
July fourth usually fails to excite shoppers, who generally stock up on lawn chairs, paper plates and other warm-weather supplies earlier in the year. But this summer may be different. Patriotic paraphernalia packs the pages of mail-order catalogs. It’s featured on scores of Web sites and crowds the shelves of drugstores, discounters and department stores such as Macy’s.
Moderator Comment: Does red, white and blue sell?
Last week in our discussion on Hasbro’s new G.I. Joe
rollouts, we asked, “Are the events of September 11th continuing to influence
product purchases with a patriotic/American theme?” Clearly they are. [George
Anderson – Moderator]