Since first starting work on digital projects for high street retailers a few years back, I’ve attended the massive Spring and Autumn Fairs at the NEC from time to time to keep in touch with product developments and e-commerce requirements. It’s always interesting to see how these events develop and what trends are the focus of the moment.

The Autumn Fairs are about a third the size of the Spring ones as most big retailers need to be making big purchase decisions early in the year if they stand a chance of making the most of the Christmas retail surge, so it is a more about looking for opportunities that smaller operators can respond to quickly.

As we appear to be teetering on the edge of a double dip recession, the nervousness was palpable at this year’s Autumn event with stands calling for people to ignore the ‘doom and gloom’ messages and take faith in this or that offering to earn much needed revenue.

Thinking back a few years as financial crisis hit and recessionary fears started growing, I saw the trend for wartime memorabilia first emerging at the Spring Fair with the arrival of designs based on the classic ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ Government posters. Since then, in true capitalistic style, the original design and a myriad of copies and variations can be seen on an increasing range of items in many shops around the country. Indeed, if the exhibition stands at the NEC are anything to go by, there is going to be even more of this stuff  before the ‘fad’ subsides.

In one of a few ‘laugh out loud’ moments as I walked the aisles this year, I spotted the wonderfully irreverent offerings from ‘Modern Toss’ and the design featured on the picture above. As crude as it is, the message hits at the heart of the issues we are currently facing in our societies, which on a slightly more intellectual level was examined recently in a BBC article about the ‘prophetic’ views of capitalism and its potential weaknesses by Karl Marx.

So, here then are a few observations from my hours walking the aisles of what Modern Toss delightfully refer to as ‘shitnaks’ …

1. Looking back is still big …

The ‘retro’ trend is everywhere. I’m guessing this is still born of recessionary times when if the future looks uncertain, we like to look back with nostalgia. Among the many examples of retro styled home fashions and gifts I particularly liked this 80s style iPhone holder from gadget wholesaler Thumbs Up and the Top Gun themed range from the Wholesale Gift company. My favourite though has to be the VW Camper Van styled tent from The Monster Factory. As an occasional camper, this is not only a funny and well executed idea, it is also a supremely practical and comfortable looking tent for someone of my height and build. My wife however, thought the Dog House tent was far more applicable 🙂

2. More toys for big boys …

Big boys are now spoilt for choice when it comes to flying stuff around. There are now vast ranges of very stable and easy to fly micro helicopters on the market in all sorts of shapes and sizes, including some with built-in cameras and that can fire foam missiles. However, it was the iO micro camera range from Intelligent Optics that caught my eye whereby High Definition video and audio can be captured from a pair of glasses. Having visited the Florida theme parks earlier this year, this is the type of unit that is ideal for capturing experiences while still keeping both hands free.

3. Sustainability messages look ironic …

‘Sustainability’ is one of those wonderful must-have buzzwords of the moment but one that looks horribly ironic when placed in the context of 5 large exhibition halls bursting at the seams with ‘stuff’, the majority of which sits very low in Maslow’s heirachy of needs. As in the case of supposedly more environmentally friendly vehicles, you need to look in-depth at complete production and disposal lifecycles where sustainable elements are sometimes negated by other aspects of a products production or use. I was pleased however, to see the solar PowerPack win a ‘Gift of the Year 2011’ award. This sleek and well designed portable product can hold a solar generated charge for up to a year and be used to power cameras, phones and MP3 players etc both day and night.

4. You can now ‘edit yourself’ and freak out everyone else …

Under the banner ‘edit yourself’ was one of several companies exhibiting who produce contact lenses designed to change your appearance, from cosmetic enhancement to the downright scary. Those haunting red zombie eyes or unnerving ‘lizard like’ features are no longer the domain of movie special effects departments and CGI – you can buy these looks for yourself and transform your appearance in seconds.

5. It’s not just any old shit – it’s my shit …

Look, look – it has my name on it! Not just that first name that I share with many millions of others but my full name – and lot’s of other details too if I want them 🙂 Personalisation services, fuelled by web driven efficiencies were to be seen across many categories of products on display this Autumn – from the award winning La Belle Memoire (hand crafted ‘Memory Books’) to the Personalised Momento Company who seem to be able to put your name and details on anything these days. If we’re not careful, this could be a real ‘car boot killer’ in years to come – who is going to want to buy those piles of gimmicky toys and discarded gifts if they have somebody else’s name plastered all over them?

Finally, I started this post with the irreverent, if crudely insightful, offerings from Modern Toss so I’ll end it with another ‘lol’ moment when I ventured onto the stand of the ‘Diabolical Gift Company‘. In recent years, my kids have had ‘grow it yourself’ toys – these are things like dinosaur models that start off very small and then expand to many times their original size when left in water for any length of time. So now, all you big girls and boys can do the same with a seemingly endless array of ‘grow your own’ choices, including; boobs, willies, brains, gay best friends, pole dancers and a mistress or two 🙂

Right – I’m off to check how big those boobs have got 😉