Selfie Sticks were first patented in 2005.

Just over one year ago a new novelty item known as the selfie stick flooded mainstream popularity and became the new must have product for Christmas 2014 with expectations of them being a passing fad although surprisingly these products don’t appear to be leaving any time soon.

The popularity of new technological gimmicks are on the rise each year with 2015’s novelty item already billed as the self balancing board however we wanted to find out what is the typical lifespan of these type of products especially for businesses that invest heavily in stock of such novelty items.

We spoke with Chris Jenkins, the owner of UK based SelfieStick.co.uk and he said he has been quite impressed by the ongoing demand for such products.

“When we launched the business after Christmas 2014 we saw a huge spike in demand for selfie sticks due to the press’ ongoing obsession with the products. Over 2015 growth has continued to be strong with many people purchasing selfie sticks for holidays and we are now seeing a significant spike over the Christmas period as they tend to be a great gift idea over the festive period.”

“We see the demand for selfie sticks as being quite sustainable long term as they are an item which offer great practicality to users. Purchases tend to be fairly cyclical with Summer and Christmas being the peaks”.

The selfie stick was invented in 2005 according to a patent filed by a Canadian and they first gained popularity in Asia.

Over 2015 the product has faced significant media attention with many sporting events such as Wimbledon, festivals such as Coachella and theme parks like Disney banning the items due to growing safety concerns however it seems to have only boosted its popularity.

This years must have Christmas present, the “balancing scooter” or “balance board” has shot to fame in recent months as can be seen from the below Google trend data.

Data taken from Google Trends.

Just like selfie sticks the boards have faced criticism due to public safety concerns whilst the police notified users that the boards are illegal on UK public roads.

Despite the news many retailers have said they have seen a boost in sales following the news and expect to sell out over the Christmas period.