Photo fans snapped up selfie sticks at blistering pace over the holidays
Here’s looking at you, kid: Americans are stuck on themselves and with sharing themselves, two factors that made selfie sticks a hot seller for the holidays.
Oxford Dictionaries made "selfie" the word of the year in 2013. U.S. consumers responded by making the selfie stick the gift of the year in 2014.
Around the U.S. this holiday season, camera shops, department stores and pharmacies have been having a hard time keeping up with demand for the selfie stick, a retractable pole that people clamp onto their smartphones to take better pictures of themselves.
Nordstrom Inc., which carried the Selfie On A Stick model in 118 stores starting in late November, said it had to reorder the item twice before Christmas and is currently sold out. ProMaster, which supplies camera accessories to 500 U.S. stores, said it had to keep reordering selfie sticks after running out of stock. On Dec. 25, the hashtag #selfiestick dominated Twitter, as gift receivers posted pictures of themselves with the gadgets, which typically sell for $10 to $30.
"We basically couldn’t keep them in stock," said Jirair Christianian, owner of Mike’s Camera, a 12-store chain based in Boulder, Colo. "People are taking a lot of selfies these days. The selfie stick makes it easy and makes it fun."
Various manufacturers make selfie sticks, which are technically called extendable monopods. Some of the products include Bluetooth remotes that trigger the camera. Others require the user to set a timer on their smartphone to take the shot.
The technology has raised some eyebrows. Concerned that Bluetooth remotes on selfie sticks could interfere with other devices, South Korea’s Ministry of Science banned the sale of unregulated selfie sticks in November, threatening fines and imprisonment for those breaking the law.
Don't miss out on what's happening!
Stay in touch with top news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It's FREE!
Selfie sticks are more than for just vanity shots of oneself. Photographers can use the pole to extend their reach, getting more friends and family members in a shot or including more sights in the background. Beyond selfies, the stick can help people get interesting camera angles or be used as a microphone boom arm.
"It’s not just about shooting your eight closest friends at arm’s length," said Mike Worswick, owner of Wolfe’s Camera in Topeka, Kan., who added that selfie sticks were the best- selling device this month. "It has some useful applications that go beyond the obvious."
Spencer Soper, Bloomberg News
