Do Your Customers a Favor and
Add $.75 Profit to Every Gift Sale this Holiday Season!

Three Simple Ideas to Help Holiday Shoppers and add to the bottom line.

Holiday shoppers can be overloaded, over-stressed, over-booked and sometimes even over-looked.  And, retailers are pressed trying to find new ways to survive when consumers aren’t spending as much.  Obviously, one way is to get more customers and then keep them coming back.  Success is all about fulfilling needs.  Customers shop where they can get what they need, want and can afford.  If you want to skip the stories and go directly to the Tips, page down here….otherwise, read on!

So let’s go back to the basics: customer service.  A few years ago, I was shopping for a baby gift.   I was going through the checkout lane, as the cashier rung up my gift, plus the gift bag, tissue gift card and bow that I was purchasing.  She kindly offered me the gift wrap station located near the exit.    Really?  A gift wrap station?  Hmmmm.  I stopped.  Nothing Fancy…just a large table up against the wall with a tape dispenser, pens and scissors – all tethered to the wall of course!  I smiled as I quickly took my gift out of the bag, assembled it with the tissue in my gift bag, (how nice to have enough space to do it well) and sign my gift card.  I attached the bow and signed the card and taped it to the bag. Ta-daaa!  What a nice service!  I was done.  No fuss, no mess and what a time saver.  And it only cost the retailer a 2” piece of tape and an unused space near the exit.

Last Christmas, I was at a book store and purchased a book. The cashier asked if it was a gift and if I needed it wrapped.  Now this time they did it for me.  The price tag was removed and the gift receipt inserted with a promotional bookmark. I don’t think they even charged me; however, the gift wrap had their name all over it so it was pretty good advertising for them and a great convenience for me.  I still had to add a gift card and bow but “yipeee”, the gift was wrapped.  And that is now where I shop for those who have books on their list!  It probably cost the retailer about .25-50 in paper that advertised their name to me and the gift’s recipient.

It isn’t that I don’t’ like to wrap gifts, I love it.  But it is also a busy season and I love convenience too.  So, thinking about customers this holiday season, why not offer to help them out even more, gain their loyalty and look good in the process?  I am not suggesting anything that will eat into the retailer’s bottom line…just creative ideas that can make your customer’s experience one they will come back for.

With the Holiday Spirit in mind, here are 3 simple ideas to make Holiday Shopping more Convenient for your Customers:

1.        Offer Convenience and make an extra .75 profit on gift sales! This first idea is probably the easiest and most profitable.  Purchase a roll of 250 Bow Stickers (McIncDirect.com item #60250-250)   A Peel & Stick Bow Sticker is a realistic looking bow and gift tag sticker.  They come on a roll of 250 at a cost of about .25 each + freight.  Keep the roll at your checkout lane.  Have a box, bottle or gift bag on display with a Bow Sticker on it near the register.  Ask customers purchasing gifts, “Would you like to wrap your gift with a Bow Sticker today for .99?”  Now remember, conventional bows average $2 and up so .99 is a deal.  And, it is a bow and gift tag in one.  If you sell anything in a bottle, bag or box, customers can skip the gift wrap and just Bow Sticker it!  Bow Stickers are environmental, inexpensive, novel and fun.  And they don’t get crushed!  You can also sell peg-able 12 packs of Bow Stickers to your customers for the gifts they already have at home.  Perfect for bottles of wine, boxes of candy or nuts, or anything in pretty box or gift bag.  Why waste the paper? Just Bow-Sticker-It.   If you’re not looking to make a profit on this, sell the Bow Stickers for your cost. Or, if you like, offer a Bow Sticker free with every gift purchase as a nice holiday gesture however, it will cost you about a quarter a sale.

2.      Create a Gift Wrapping Area.  If you have the space, set up a Gift Wrapping Table, a 2 x4” table will do for one customer at a time and stock it with tape, scissors and pens.  If you sell Bow Stickers, gift bags, gift wrap or even offer tissue with customer’s purchases, a gift wrap table will increase your gift wrap sales.  Giving customers a space to organize, box and wrap their gift is a great service for shoppers.

3.      Create Holiday Spirit.  Partner up with a local non-profit group like Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, a local club, a church or food shelf.  Help them purchase gift wrap wholesale.  Commercial white or kraft paper on a roll can be festive-chic when decorated with a Bow Sticker.  Set up a table where they can wrap gifts for a donation. Help your customers save time and give back to the community.

I love win-win situations and any of the three ideas fall into that category! Help you’re Holiday Customers enjoy the season and you will enjoy the season too!