Sales of womens handbags dropped by 8 percent from 2016 to 2017 reaching 7 billion while sales of backpacks and duffel bags have been on the uptick Forbes reported From May 2017 to May 2018 mens backpack sales dropped by 5 percent and sales of childrens backpacks have fallen 15 percent Sales of womens backpacks however have been on the rise increasing by 15 percent In addition sales of duffel bags were up 17 percent from February 2017 to February 2018 In line with this trend entrepreneurs have created new products Dagne Dover for instance made a backpack that was designed to be an alternative to a handbag BABOONs first product is a duffel bag that acts as an overnight and weekend bag for women Technology is also making its way into the handbag and apparel market Rebecca Minkoffs handbags and the Rochambeau BRIGHT BMBR smart jacket are both powered by a partnership between Avery Dennison a company specializing in apparel and footwear branding labeling radio-frequency identification and digital solutions and IoT smart product platform EVRYTHNG The jacket and handbag can deliver special experiences such as offers coupons vouchers partner experiences cross-sell and up-sell opportunities and loyalty benefits which get pushed through to the users smartphone For example the Minkoff bag uses geolocation technology so if it finds itself a block over from a fitness class that partners with the brand it can push a voucher for the bags owner to go try out the class The BRIGHT BMBR unlocks exclusive New York City experiences at restaurants nightclubs and art and fashion destinations With the new handbag line Rebecca Minkoff also launched the hashtag AlwaysOn which begs the question Do consumers want to be always on So that users dont get notification fatigue these products take more of a let them come to us approach Its possible to carry a Minkoff bag or wear a BRIGHT BMBR jacket and never have a connected experience But if the wearer wants it the connected experience is there and the more a customer uses it the smarter it gets about targeting benefits