Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-06-04
INCREASE IN SALES
AIDED BY SCIENCE
Business Men Turn to Psy'
choIogy in Promotion
of Trade.
BY ]. c. ROYLE.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, June 4.-Business is
turning steadily to science to assure
improvement Of sales. The department
and speciality stores of the country are
already hiring psychologists to enable
them to determine what they shall buy
in preparation for the 1929 Christmas
trade. This trend is specially notice
able in toys.
One of the largest department stores
of the MiddleWeSt has employed noted
feminine educator to sound out the
leading psychologists of the country
and educators in all sections as to the
trend Of toys and childish demands for
them.
Trend Is Widespread.
This store contemplates the opening
of a service which will enable parents
and gift givers to make proper selection
Of toys, taking into consideration of
the natural bent of the individual child
and using the broad foundation of can
vases of many children. The idea, of
course, is that this service would make
the toy benefit educationally as well
as source of amusement.
1
Manufacturers declared today that this
trend had been manifested in numerous
other instances, although the general
idea of most merchants seemed to be
to use the psychologists to train the
clerks selling toys rather than to offer
a special psychological service to pos
sible buyers. The clerks. they feel,
should be made competent to advise
purchasers after questioning the latter
about individual tendencies.
Officials of the association declared it
was their belief that while a special
advisory service might prove of inter-
est and benefit to some parents, the
casual buyer of toy gifts is inclined to
buy the thing which they imagine
would have appealed to themselves at
the age Of the child, rather than to go
into deep analysis of educational trends.
The educator from the Middle West
declared that her studies so far had in
clined her to the belief that the day OF
the doll is over. She believes children
have ceased to take interest in dolls,
except the life-size specimens. and that
girls now have little interest in making
dolls clothes or dressing and undressing
dolls
The manufacturers. on the other
hand, say that just as many dolls will
be made, sold and enjoyed this year as
ever. They point out that dolls, like
women, wear so few clothes that long
and extensive play cannot be devoted
to dressing and undressing them. The
makers of toys look principally to the
sale of the wheeled toys to bolster re-
ceiptS in the coming season.
Airplane Toy Vogue.
The airplane is having a toy vogue,
but they report that this is just re-
currence of a similar burst of interest
some years ago. They expect 1t to drop
slightly and then revive again. The
wagon, the scooter, the skates and the
too automobile. however. seem firmly
imbedded in the mitch reserved for jul
venile favorites. So are the toys which
enable the boy or girl to make some
thing with them. The mechanical trend
is strong and SO is the demand for toy
musical instruments of somewhat SUI
perior make which have real har-
monte possibilities. Artistic tendencies
will find plenty to satisfy them in the
modelling and painting sets.