There’s no one more eager than a kid in a candy store, that is unless you are a kid in a store that caters to the other things they love: toys, games, trinkets and souvenirs. Items that are cute, cuddly and regionally specific are timeless attributes that children on road trips are seeking when they stop off to shop with their families while traveling.
Whether they are visiting family in Brooklyn, taking a road trip along I-80 or enjoying a short stop on their way to the California coast, destination retailers can charm these young shoppers with items that appeal to their whimsies and capture area attributes.
For stores that cater to these tiny weary travelers, it is important to stock an abundance of playful items in easy-to-access displays so even the choosiest of children won’t be able to resist picking something off your shelves.
Fun in the city
For the last 17 years, visitors to Brooklyn, New York, and families living in the Park Slope neighborhood stop in Blue Ribbon General Store for gifts and items that cater to the urbanite, according to Owner Anne Cantrell.
“We have everything from bar to cleaning to pet, but we are in Brooklyn, which is very kid friendly, and we really like to service our community.”
Blue Ribbon General Store’s wide array of kids’ products cater to families who enjoy big city living and visiting.
Its location on Fifth Avenue in Brooklyn, which was rated “the coolest street in New York City,” attracts many tourists and people in town visiting friends and family. Foreign tourism has started to pick back up, too, post-pandemic.
The kids’ offerings make up about a quarter of the 1,100 square foot store. While New York name dropped items to Brooklyn Loves Brooklyn items are big sellers, one of the stores bestsellers is a baby teether that looks like a bagel with lox.
“The ‘blue ribbon’ of the name Blue Ribbon General Store means that we’re finding the best product so we have a well-edited assortment of kids’ products in our general store,” says Cantrell. “Even though it is a small portion of our shop, we really try to services a lot of different ages and offer a lot of fun newness. People are very well traveled here so we always try to bring them something new and follow a little bit of retro along the way.”
From an expansive offering of baby and toddler items like teethers, swaddles and funny onesies, the store also carries what Cantrell describes as interesting and educational toys designed to make learning more fun.
“Throughout the whole store, we are really into puzzles. I love the ‘family puzzle.’ I think for a family that has a kid eight or up it is just so fun,” Cantrell notes.
Blind boxes are also a popular item Cantrell keeps stocked. These boxes contain figurines where you generally know what you are getting, but you don’t know exactly which one. Customers buy multiples because they are collectible. They also make great stocking stuffers, according to Cantrell.
“We’ve got a lot of funny ones like a cat in a funny shape and you don’t know which one you are going to get,” she explains.
DIY kits are also up for grabs, which Cantrell says are good for solo play. Magic kits are also in demand.
The store also has a “tweener” section with products that are more feminine like bead kits to make friendship bracelets, and bedroom decor. For kids in the 24 months to seven-year-old range, Blue Ribbon General Store carries a variety of wooden toys that allow kids to emulate what their parents are doing like making a smoothie or an espresso drink.
“One of our most popular gifts is a wooden rainbow birthday cake, and it comes in many different parts so there’s a stacking element to it as well as being colorful and fun. I’m always looking for new innovative things along those lines,” says Cantrell.
The store also caters to road tripping and airline traveling kids with sticker books, workbooks and bingo cards.
The store sells a ton of Jellycat toys, which Cantrell says has exploded in the last two years. “We’ve doubled our business of Jellycats,” she says.
The store sells just about every kind of Jellycat imaginable from cats, dogs, bunnies to capybaras. In addition, the store also offers a variety of the brand’s Amuseables, which consist of foods that have eyes on them. “Of course we are in New York so we have pizza Amuseables,” she says.
“It just depends on what comes out and what sells really quickly. Right now we have a ginger root Jellycat, and for the holidays we have so many fun Jellycats. I think it’s hilarious, we probably sell as many to the adults as we do kids.”
Cantrell says being in Brooklyn, the store tries to be conscious of how much space its merchandise takes up. “We have a smaller footprint and all of our toys respect that,” she says.
Young nature enthusiasts can find everything they need for fun exploration at Heebe Jeebe in Petaluma, California.
Fidget toys are another item that tends to sell, and for Blue Ribbon, NeeDoh by Schylling is a squishy worry toy that is all the rage. They could be in the shape of a chess piece or an ice cube or anything else one could imagine. “There’s different versions, and we always try to have them in stock and get the newest NeeDoh.”
And eco-consciousness does not get ignored at Blue Ribbon. The store also carries toy cars made from recycled plastic bottles. Board games, including different variations of the popular Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza and family icebreaker games are also sold at Blue Ribbon.
Going west
Toys are also a big draw at Fort Cody Trading Post in North Platte, Nebraska, where travelers stop to stretch on their road trip.
“We are right on Interstate 80 so people travel to Denver and Omaha and we are like a halfway point,” says Nick Henline, owner of the third-generation family-owned business. And while tourists can pick up all sorts of Native American jewelry, moccasins, Western books, T-shirts and food products, he says toys are definitely up there in sales.
“We carry a lot of stuffed animals, a lot of plush. That’s a really big thing,” Henline says. He adds that he tries to carry a large variety of stuffed animals. “We have an entire island full of different choices. I like to have a really big variety of stuffed animals for the kids.”
Buffalo and bison do however make up the bulk of plush sales, which Henline says can be attributed to the area’s connection to Buffalo Bill. “I think everyone who comes in has buffaloes on their mind so everyone wants to go home with a little miniature buffalo plush.”
Wild Republic and Douglas are two of Fort Cody Trading Post’s top plush suppliers. The store also taps into its Old West history with toy cap guns from Parris Manufacturing.
“But it’s also non-western toys,” notes Henline. “Within the last several years, the biggest thing has been the fidget balls, the stress balls and items like that. They are really, really huge right now.”
Since the store gets so many motorists, travel games are a huge hit, according to Henline. “Travel bingo, always does really well,” he says. Bigger board games don’t tend to sell as well since they aren’t easy to play on the road.
Toys aren’t reserved to one section of the store, but spread out throughout. But attention is paid to the height of the toy displays.
“We generally try to have them at a lower level so kids can get to them,” says Henline. “We’ve tried tower displays before featuring kids’ lines, but if they are too high up, they really don’t sell that well so we have a bunch of islands in our store and they’re the perfect height for kids. They like to pick up everything and try it out.”
He says having all the toys at kid level may increase the risk of breakage, but ultimately, “you’re going to sell more toys if it’s at that level.”
Capturing California
California may be on the opposite coast of New York City, but visitors to Heebe Jeebe General Store in Petaluma, California, have something in common with Blue Ribbon General Store customers — their love of Jellycats.
Fort Cody Trading Post offers themed plush and other items for kids that capture the town’s rich history.
“Jellycat has been huge the last several years, and that is shopped by adults as well as kids,” says Drew Washer who opened the store 25 years ago. “I wanted to do a store where anyone could come in, and while the kids are looking at stuff, dad could find a funny pair of socks and ladies can find a nice gift for a bridal shower or a baby.”
While many items are geared for kids in the store, she says a lot of adults go to the kids’ section looking for nostalgia items. “They want to get their kids something they had as a kid or that their grandmother got them as a kid,” she says.
Washer describes the collection of kids’ items at Heebe Jeebe as “completely curated but in the most fantastical way.” She explains that while the store has carried some brands for 25 years, they are constantly moving items around and finding items that are new to keep it fresh.
Washer loves hearing the laughter in the store when kids and adults see the greeting card section. Stickers are also big sellers currently, so the store has ones that appeal to kids as well as adults. The store also has a small candy section with new and nostalgic candy.
Like Blue Ribbon General Store, NeeDoh is so popular Washer is constantly reordering them. They are by the register and the store carries a variety of styles from ice cubes to donuts to gummy bears, some made popular by TikTok. Some glow in the dark and some crunch like snowballs. Also on the register are finger puppets, including axolotls and opossums, from Archie McPhee. “I’ve sold them since day one,” she says of the finger puppets.
Themes throughout the store range from humor and current events. “Cats are having a moment. We have lots of them all over the store,” she says alluding to political statements that may have spurred sales recently.
Jellycats include mushrooms with fancy hats, snails and food items. Stuffed animal keychains are hip with the teens and tweens. Douglas plush toys appeal to the younger tots, and dress-up, wooden toys and magic sets all have a place.
“I do sell a lot of Petaluma name-drop items,” Washer adds. “We have a lot of tourists who come in from inland to go to the coast. We are along the way. We also get wine country people and just people that like a small town getaway.”
To appeal to the young nature enthusiast, Heebe Jeebe carries toys from Kikkerland, which include binoculars and outdoor activity books. Washer has a nature section in the store where these items can be found. “Since we are in Northern California, a lot of people are into mushroom hunting so we have a lot of mushroom-related stuff.”
Unicorns may have had their day in the sun, but popularity appears to be fading at Heebe Jeebe. Instead Washer says, “all of a sudden it’s raccoons and foxes and outdoorsy animals.” Bears have always been popular, she adds, “but now it’s a lot of possums and funny little creatures.”
No matter where your store is located, you can carry merchandise that appeals to kids while also paying homage to the places and features that make your store’s location special.
