How you sell sunglasses depends very much on what type of sunglasses you are actually selling. And even with the same types of sunglasses, there are different marketing approaches you can try, and which will perform better or worse according to other variables such as location, time of year, and current fashion trends. Sunglasses are an incredibly popular product that are sold all over the world and at all times of year. However, marketing can be much more dependent on the when and where of your outlet or ecommerce site. But let us get the what out of the way first.
Sunglasses are diverse, but there are two fundamental categories which have a massive bearing on your marketing strategy. These are designer brand-name sunglasses and the inexpensive bulk sunglasses which are normally sold in assorted batches, representing a range of styles and practical properties. The second of these categories is much more diverse, whereas the first are marketed in pretty much the same way at all times and in all places.
Marketing Brand Name Sunglasses
If you are selling brand name sunglasses, there is pretty much one marketing strategy to go for. Ray Bans, Oakley’s, and the like sell for pretty much one reason – they are high fashion. Indeed, the price tag attached to such sunglasses is not really a reflection of quality. Rather, it is a reflection of how prestigious the brand is, and which celebrities have recently been spied on by the paparazzi sporting the shades.
Accordingly, among those customers who can afford them, such sunglasses pretty much sell themselves – or their brand does. Therefore, all you need to do is emphasize the prestigiousness of the brand you are selling. If this is the path you have chosen, things are not so complicated.
Marketing Strategies for Inexpensive Sunglasses
The reason why things get a bit more complicated when you are selling wholesale-bought inexpensive sunglasses is that customers begin to value practicality and what the sunglasses can actually offer rather than the brand attached to them. Olympic Eyewear, a sunglasses wholesale distributor, sell their wares in assorted batches, meaning that sunglasses for driving, for fashion, for the sun, for the snow, and so on are all represented in any given batch. Here follows some marketing strategies you can apply when selling these types of sunglasses:
Emphasize First Impressions
Sunglasses go over your eyes and become a massive central feature of your face. Hence, people are going to notice a pair of sunglasses on a person before they notice pretty much any other item of attire. Consequently, emphasize the face in marketing materials, and the first impression of looking someone in the face.
Emphasize Protection
Fear of injury and the desire to protect health are powerful emotions to stir in marketing. Sunglasses – especially the less expensive wholesale designer-like glasses – frequently offer protection against UV rays, against glare, and against eye strain. Emphasizing this is therefore a winning marketing strategy.
Show the Good Times
It doesn’t matter whether it is skiers hitting the slopes at Aspen or sun bathers soaking up rays at Venice Beach, sunglasses are closely associated with holidays and are nearly always included in the suitcases of people jetting off to either hot or cold climates. Therefore, emphasizing that with your sunglasses comes all the good times customers are to have when wearing them, you will have your customers making exactly the right kind of associations with your sunglasses.
When there isn’t a brand selling your sunglasses inventory for you, the opportunity for innovative marketing suddenly becomes much bigger. How you make use of that opportunity though is entirely up to you.