Buying gifts for friends and family is an activity that millions of people undertake every year. Gift shops create huge amounts of revenue, especially at Christmastime.
Gifts are a good business to get into because they are purchased by every group in society. They also cover an endless range of sectors, including toys, cards, home decor and jewelry.
Pros of Starting a Gift Shop Business
- Gives you the opportunity to be creative.
- Gifts will always be in demand.
- Product catalogue tends to be fairly straightforward.
- Wide variety of product areas to choose from.
Cons of Starting a Gift Shop Business
- Competitive marketplace that can make it hard to get noticed.
- Seasonal niche that will produce lower revenue outside of national holidays.
If you’re thinking of setting up a gift shop business, there are a number of things to consider. Make sure you get a solid business plan together and have a product range that will generate the most profit for your business.
Choosing Your Products
Whether you’re creating your own gifts or stocking a range of goods, you will need a range of products to sell. Try visiting local trade fairs for ideas of products to stock. Focus on creating a range of products that complement each other and offer a suitable variety and keep a solid vision.
Personalized Goods
Gifts that can be personalized for the recipient of the gift are popular as they make people feel special. The ability to change a name and add a message will help increase your gift shop sales. Some ideas for personalized gifts are:
- Custom Keychains
- Engraved Jewelry
- Drinks, Glasses and Mugs
- Phone Cases
- Coasters
- Cushions
- Engraved Jewelry Box
- Engraved Hip Flask
Popular Items
There are plenty of other popular items to stock that sell time and time again in gift shops. Keep things fresh and look out for the latest trends. Below are some ideas of classic items to include in your gift shop.
- Flowers
- Cool Gadgets
- Luxury Chocolates
- Cards
Gifts for Special Occasions
Take note of all the dates throughout the year where people buy presents for special occasions such as Mother’s Day, a university graduation and Christmas. These are all opportunities to stock themed gifts for people to buy. Other themed gifts that you can stock all year round are birthday presents, wedding presents and anniversary presents. See ideas for themed gifts below.
- Birthday Gifts
- Christmas Presents
- Graduation
- Valentine’s Day
- Wedding Presents
- Anniversary Presents
- Mother’s Day Gifts
- Father’s Day Gifts
Where to Sell Your Gifts
Selling Gifts on Other Websites
If you’re creating your own gifts — you can promote them by selling them on popular websites whilst you save up to build your own website. Amazon, eBay and Etsy are all great popular marketplaces for selling gifts. Particularly Etsy for unique handmade gifts.
If you’re creating gifts for kids you can also reach out to popular blogs that recommend gifts to try and get your product featured. Websites like Good Old Gifts review suggestions from retailers about which gifts to feature for children of different ages.
Creating Your Own Gift Shop Website
If you want to set up your own website, there are a lot of costs associated with this. A high-quality ecommerce website can cost upwards of $5000. You can also try setting up your own website with a CMS like WordPress or Wix. However, this is not advisable if you have no experience in website development.
Once you’ve set it up, you will also need to invest in a way of getting visitors to your website. SEO, social media marketing and Google Ads are all marketing strategies you can use to get more customers on your website every month.
Selling Gifts in a Physical Store
Setting up your own physical shop is a business strategy that requires the most investment. Startup costs will be high as you need to rent or purchase a premises, pay for staff and purchase extensive stock. Choose your location wisely. The best gift shops will have maximum visibility to potential customers, a large glass window so passersby can see the product range, and will be on the ground floor.
Upselling Tips
When you’re selling gifts, there’s a great opportunity to upsell other products to maximize your revenue. Try to be imaginative; if you have personalized products that go together you can try to upsell them as a set. Below are two upselling ideas that are popular in the gift shop sector.
Gift Wrapping
Most people who buy the products will be buying a gift for someone else. A gift that is lovingly wrapped and tied with a handwritten tag can leave a lasting impression on a customer. It’s really important to offer a gift wrapping service to help get a bit of extra revenue from customers.
Birthday/Christmas Cards
If someone is buying a gift, offer a personalized birthday card to go with the gift. This is a great way to increase the average order value from your customers. If you have an online store, you can offer to add either physical cards or e-cards to the customer’s basket at checkout.
Conclusion
If you’re thinking about starting up your own business, then a gift shop is a great option to choose that can be very profitable, especially if there isn’t already gift shops in your local area. If you have a great idea for a new gift, there’s also the potential to start selling high quantities of these through selling online and working with other gift shop owners across the country.
