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The luxury goods market has risen dramatically in the last five years and according to Business 2.0,”Sales of high-end products for babies grew an estimated 20 percent last year — five times faster than the total $24 billion infant and preschool goods industry.”
As the middle-class mother of twin toddlers and a kindergartner, I may not have purchased a $1200 Louis Vuitton diaper bag, but I do admit to paying more than I should have for a huge Kate Spade bag that I just had to have. Its sleek black shape made me feel more stylish on our outings and less like a sherpa, as I lugged around an expedition’s worth of Pampers and wipes.

Style and functionality is exactly what today’s high-end market expects. As design trends filter down the markets and price points, independent retailers see their customers demanding more sophisticated or whimsically with-it product choices for their babies. - “It doesn’t have to be nice, its only a diaper bag!” has changed to “I don’t want to carry around that with me”. Superficial, but true. Just take a look at Cookie magazine—one of the newest and fastest growing publications. Cookie is a combo InStyle, Parents, and Dwell magazine geared for the pint-size set.

Many independent retailers have been able to fit baby-items into their mix without the products lines seeming incongruous with the rest of their inventory. For example, caring an all organic body care line for babies, alongside the adult body care lines.

Even if you do not cater to children or have a young parent clientele, you may still sell items to those who want to buy gifts. In today’s growing seniors demographic, grandparents are buying more and more of their grandchildren’s goodies. Your older and/or child-free clientele may appreciate the convenience of having unique products to purchase for the tiny tots in their social circles. These unencumbered customers are splurging on items that a parent may not buy for their own baby for issues of extravagance, but which end up being greatly appreciated by the recipient’s parents for their thoughtfulness.