Voting at the register: KC businesses on how presidential items have sold

Early voting is not just at the polling booths.

Consumers also are voting at their favorite retail outlets, showing their support in their selection of drinking cups and glasses, apparel and in other entertaining ways.

Take Flying Saucer Draught Emporium. The taproom chain said it has correctly predicted presidential elections since 2004, with customers “voting” with the purchase of limited-edition glassware featuring both candidates. In 2008, Sen. Barack Obama led its “Pint Poll” with 10,127 votes to Sen. John McCain’s 8,325 votes.

As of Wednesday, its “I voted for Donald Trump” limited-edition pint glassware was outselling the “I voted for Hillary Clinton” glass. The Power & Light District location sold 211 Trump glasses, compared to 204 for Clinton.

Total sales for the chain — 16 locations in six states — were 5,919 for Trump glasses and 4,976 for Clinton glasses.

But Flying Saucer customers also could be placing a “vote” for what’s on the back of the glasses — as in Trump’s “Big Plans Small Hands” and Clinton’s “Slick Hilly.”

▪ Sock 101, a high-quality sock company based in Lee’s Summit, is offering red, white and blue election socks for the first time. As of Wednesday, it had sold 1,117 of “The Left Wing” socks with donkey figures and 1,160 of “The Right Wing” with elephants. The new election designs are made in the U.S.

In the current passionate political climate, consumers want to show their political affiliation, said founding partner Kelly Yarborough.

“With socks they don’t have to show their affiliation unless they cross their legs,” he said.

▪ At 7-Eleven, customers can pick a blue coffee cup to show support for the Democratic Party or red for the Republican Party. But they also have another option in this particularly contentious election cycle, a nonpartisan purple “Speak Up” cup. The number of cups sold to date are reported at 7Election.com. As of Thursday, Missouri 7-Eleven votes were 35 percent for Democrats, 38 percent for Speak Up and 27 percent for Republicans, while 31 percent of its Kansas customers purchased the Democrat cup, 39 percent the Speak Up cup and 30 percent the Republican cup.

▪ Mike’s Wine and Spirits, with locations in Brookside, Waldo and Westport, is offering two cocktail recipes to play off the election, created by its wine manager.

“We want people to come into our stores, and we thought this would be a cool way to express our creativity as a liquor store,” said Andy Doohan, manager of the Waldo store.

This story was originally published November 3, 2016 at 1:58 PM with the headline "Voting at the register: KC businesses on how presidential items have sold."