Scrap Slump? Are the 'Glory' days of Scrapping gone?

I took a trip to Pat Catan's this weekend. I wasn't in the market for any additional scrap stash, I was just in the area, saw the sign, and pulled into the driveway.

I remember the good old days of PC shopping. The scrapbooking/stamping aisles were always full of people picking over their scrapbooking goodies, lugging loaded baskets around while they searched out the next great deal. And THAT was happening in the middle of the week during lunch!

I went in this weekend and had I wanted anything scrapbooking related, I could've had my choice of aisles to plop down and lay claim to. I spoke to an associate that was in the process of moving some items to the clearance bins upstairs. She informed me that they have been noticing a decline in scrapbooking sales/interest over the past 3 or 4 months. She also informed me that they've recieved smaller quatities of the scrapbooking/papercrafting magazines that they used to have and now instead of having a rack full of them, you have to search them out on aisle hangers. I figured that she was either not a scrapbooker or not one who had an expanded database of online scrap communities from which to garner knowledge. Why? Because she said, "we just can't figure out why...".

I looked around the store and sure enough, there were people everywhere. In the floral department, in the woodcrafting sections, painting section, and the bead section was packed, so I didn't even bother. There seemed to be a lot of people shopping that day (I know this because I stood in line for 10 minutes to buy a bucket of plastic foamie shapes for my daughter), but nobody was flocking to the scrapbooking area. Trust me, I've been going to that store for almost 2 years now and it was truly an anamoly.

All of this brought to mind the possibility of the industry truly drying up. I know that there is a constant influx of new (and not so new) product, but what does this mean if people aren't buying it? Is everyone really shopping online? I swung over to Joanne's after Pat's and it was pretty much the same story there.

I like to think that the negativity in the industry is small potatoes when compared to the other issues that could be having an impact on the register sales of all things scrapbooking:

*Too much too similar product by too many too similar designers/companies.
*Over priced/packaged products that just don't offer the bang for the buck feature that many scrapbookers look for.
*A decrease of the number of people who are trying to be published and a return to the basics with an emphasis on using one's existing stash first and foremost. Perhaps these people made a habit of running out and buying the latest and greatest while they were persuing publishing?
*A small scale exodus from the scrapooking hobby by people who either have given it up or no longer have time for the hobby.
*Growing dissatisfaction with the industry as a whole and the major magazine's as a facet.
*The ability to get more for less from online store.


I've noticed that even for myself, all of those factors have had an impact on how much scrapbooking I do. I no longer pursue publishing or DT work and I have the freedom of creation that I've always wanted. I really don't care one way or the other if the industry implodes... I think it's overdue anyway. Am I worried that when I finally go through my stash that I won't be able to replenish my supplies? Nope, I'll probably wind up selling off my stuff before I get to that point... or I'll be scrapping until I'm 80.