Radio controlled helicopters are a lot of fun, everybody who’s ever flown one will testify to that. However you might not realise that rather than just being for entertainment, RC helicopters also hold an important role in the retail sector, one that became ever more important in the run up to Christmas with the financial crisis affecting the UK.
RC helicopters were used by many stores, including some of large named stores, to attract potential customers. Large shopping centres in the UK were packed with customers in the run up to Christmas, but of course people were being much more frugal with their money, deciding carefully over their purchases. To help attract customers to their stores, and thus to their products, many stores would place items such as radio controlled helicopters in their entrance ways. Also, rather than just have them sat there, they would have store staff demonstrating the RC helicopters so that customers knew how easy they were to fly and how quiet they were.
RC helicopters were perfect for this because they could be flown safely over people’s heads, outside the store, ensuring that they were seen by people as they approached. Children in particular could see the radio controlled helicopters flying around and wanted to see what was in the shop.