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| Best Merchandising Ideas: Gift Baskets
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Gift baskets are often overlooked as a year-round merchandising opportunity. While some retailers may not put much credence into their own baskets, others are discovering new ways of promoting, designing, and selling gift baskets every day. How are your gift-basket sales? Do your customers know you offer gift-basket services? Here are some simple steps you can take to get your merchandising techniques under wrap.
The Written Word
One of the most important merchandising tools for gift-basket sales is making sure customers realize the services you provide. Signs detailing the kinds of specialty baskets you make can help trigger a person to buy one. Ignite orders by targeting your gift-basket sales to specific markets. List what kinds of theme baskets are available: graduation, state, regional, baby, sports, get well, graduation, college care gifts, sympathy, congratulations, and as many others as you can think of. In addition, if you have shipping capabilities, promote that service in all your gift-basket merchandising.
Remember, the person most impressed by your service is the recipient of the gift. Be sure your store name is clearly marked within the gift basket so when everything is unwrapped and unpacked, the recipient can still see your name. Including a discount coupon inside the basket will encourage the recipient to come into the store sooner a win/win for you.
Merchandise baskets in every department in your store. Gift baskets provide a wonderful source of cross-promotion and also encourage impulse shopping. Work gift baskets into existing displays by packaging items you are promoting into an easy-to-purchase item. For example, display specialty foods in a picnic setting and then package the event in a gift basket for two. Include two acrylic wine glasses, dinnerware and flatware, linen napkins, sparkling cider, a tablecloth, crackers, cookies, and caviar beautifully gift wrapped in a wine bucket.
The Right Design
Retailers are often discouraged when a gift basket they create doesn't sell. Instead of realizing it was simply one design which didn't work, they come to believe gift baskets won't sell in their market. Just like anything else in your inventory, creating the perfect combination to suit your customers' every desires is key to sales.
Gift-basket contests are one of the best ways to gauge your customers' interests. Challenge your employees to create gift baskets within a certain price. Every item they select must work together in the basket to create a theme or story. The basket or container should
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