A. Our payroll deduction was discontinued. Now what?

Q. Earlier this year our health system discontinued the option of payroll deduction. This has significantly impacted our sales. Have others experienced this and how have they rebounded? Thank you. – Beth Meadows, Marion General Hospital, Marion, OH. 6/21/23

UPDATE: Thank you for all the comments regarding payroll deduction. Since that last message, we have been in talks with our payroll team to consider the option of a one-time deduction through an automated system that is already set up in our cafe area. We are hopeful this will work out and will bring back at least a portion of the lost sales.

In addition to this, we did institute a “two-week hold” option to allow associates to come back when they have their credit cards or cash to pay for their product, that has been positively received.

Cindy, you asked why it was removed, and the short answer is automation. The process we had in place was more manual. Thanks again for the help. – Beth Meadows, Marion General Hospital, Marion, OH. 8/21/23

Our payroll deduction was discontinued before COVID. We now give hospital employees a 10% discount and volunteers 20%. That seems to help somewhat. – Helen Travis. 7/18/23

We have payroll deduction and it is a large percentage of our sales from staff. We do not have a limit as to how much they can put on payroll deduction. We did have to work to mainstream some issues on the backend for this to work more efficiently. – Jan Friedman, Unity Point, Dubuque, IA. 7/26/23

We use GemPay for our deductions. – Tricia Rochman, Carbondale Memorial Hospital, Carbondale, IL. 154 beds. 7/26/23

With a $25 minimum we allow team members to do payroll deduct up to 3 pay periods. If amount is $200 or more they can get it out of 4 pay periods. If we don’t have a sale going on, team members and volunteers always receive 10% off most items. Payroll is our highest form of payment. – Jessie Davis, Hannibal Regional Hospital, Hannibal, MO. 99 beds. 7/19/23

76% of shops reported having payroll deduction in 2021. It can account for 40-50% of shop sales.

Losing payroll deduction is a serious blow. Employees will not spend as much. We have talked to administrators and are trying to revive it. Shopify has Shop Pay so we may try this payment plan. – Mary Ann, St. Francis Hospital Gift Shop, Columbus, GA. 350 beds. 7/19/23

We had our payroll deduction stopped due to software being dated. Our solution was to go with a professional POS system (i3 Verticals Counterpoint). We know that 65% of sales are payroll deducted, so it was critical.  – Mary Ann Brunette. 7/18/23

We currently still have payroll deduction through Quick Charge / Kronos payroll system. We do up to 3 pay periods depending on the amount the spend. Very successful. – Ramona Kennedy, Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center Auxiliary, Ogdensburg. 115 beds. 7/18/23

Our gift shop has always deducted the full amount of the purchase made in the gift shop during one pay cycle. The limit for full-time employees is $150 and part-time is $75. PRN (as-needed employees) are not permitted to use payroll deduction. We have not had feedback that this deters spending. The only area that will carry over multiple pay periods is the pharmacy and the local uniform store. – Andie Kirchner,  Spartanburg Medical Center, Spartanburg, SC. 524 beds. 6/21/23

Why did admin decided to remove payroll deduction? You will need to preserver and find other means to make up the sales (e.g., online store, fundraisers/events, remote kiosk, etc.) Make a case for one or more of these by outlining your sales loss due to this decision. – Cindy

PART II: Read the follow-up question: Q. Is there supporting data that justifies payroll deduction?

Connect. Share. Grow. ♡

Four Instagram engagement stickers that actually work

First, if you are not marketing your shop on social media, start today! We understand it requires time, but having an online footprint validates your shop. It shows shoppers that you’re a professional retail establishment worthy of their time and dollar. And, it is FREE!

Even if you only post once a month, it means you’re regularly engaging with customers. This helps drive them to your store. If you have an online store, social media is a seamless way to drive customers to your website.

What are engagement or poll stickers?

Instagram stickers are dynamic graphic elements that are added to Instagram Stories. Some are animated, some are clickable, and others allow users to interact directly with your Instagram Story.  Stories with a question or poll allow your audience to vote or answer. They are a terrific way to boost interest and engagement.

Instagram Stories allow you to post as many videos and photos as you want to – without impacting your Instagram grid aesthetic. Letting you step away from your potentially carefully curated, on-brand feed and show off a different side of your personality – as well as sometimes alerting people to your new grid posts.

With approximately 86.6% of Instagram’s users posting Stories every day, Stories enable you to still reach your audience even when they don’t have lots of time to scroll through their newsfeed.

But how do you make your Stories stand out? Be fun? Engaging? Here are some engaging sticker ideas to try…

UPCOMING HOLIDAYS

Q. Who is a good vendor for large art prints?

Q. Where do you purchase large art prints to sell in your shop? Looking for a good vendor for bigger art prints, not necessarily the word/phrases. Like the big sunflowers, fields of wheat, abstract art, etc. to sell to our customers. We are in a smaller town, and we don’t have places to look for such items. I have purchased several from Gift Craft, but I am looking for new ideas and vendors. Thanks – Jaci Gottschalk, HaysMed Hospital, Hays, KS. 6/21/23

SHOP SIZE

Q. What is the smallest square footage you have seen for a gift shop in a larger hospital (e.g., 645 beds)? We will be losing our existing space of ~700 sq ft (+ back office and storage) and are currently evaluating our (very limited) options. The new space will likely be a much smaller footprint (300-500 sq ft). – Wendi Vela, Shop Manager at UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA

FROM CINDY

Small hospitals contain fewer than 100 beds. Medium hospitals contain between 100-499 beds. In large hospitals, defined as +500 beds, gift shops are typically a minimum of 1,000 square feet of sales space. That equates to 2 sq ft/bed (sales space). Remember, this is a benchmark, not an absolute.

Sales space does not include stock rooms, fitting rooms, back office space, etc.

Target sales per square foot
In evaluating both successful and failing shops, I have found that a minimum of $400-$500 per square foot (at retail) in annual sales is doable for most shops. But, many shops around the country are generating well over $1,500 in sales per square foot per year.

NOTE: This benchmark applies to shops that are proportionate in size to their hospital (number of employees and beds). A small shop in a big hospital should generate higher sales per square foot. A disproportionately large shop in a small hospital will generate lower sales per square foot.

To maximize every square foot of a shop’s selling space:

– There should be very little storage (drawers or cupboards) in the selling space.
– Merchandise must turn fast.
– Maintain appropriate pricing structures for maximum profit margins.

Let’s see how other shop’s sized up in comparison.

We asked readers to provide their shop’s square feet (defined as “selling space”) and the number of beds. Here are the responses from shop managers:

While this is a small, informal poll that assumes data provided is accurate. There is clearly a large range, multiple variable, and we don’t have sales data for these shops. With hospital administration often dictating shop space, many find their square footage undersized. Older hospitals or inner-city hospitals may not have room to expand.

In Wendi’s case, her current sales space of 700 sq ft is already below the recommended benchmark of 2 sq ft/bed. We do hope this information is helpful and you’re able to retain larger space for your shop!

Is your shop large enough for the hospital size and to feasibly generate the desired or prescribed sales? If not, check out the template letter requesting additional gift shop space in last month’s issue. But remember, it is best to plan shop renovations for January or February when sales are slow.

Thanks to everyone who responded. Your input helps this community grow and succeed.

^{Information is based on the consultant’s general experience, knowledge of gift shop management, and data from sponsored national surveys.}

SHOPPING BAGS

Q. I would be interested in hearing what other hospital gift shops do about shopping bag expense. We have been giving them away when the purchase is a gift, but this is getting out of hand and prices of bags have really gone up. I would like to start charging but, not sure how this will go over since we have been giving them away for so long. Even the plastic “thank you bags” have gone up in price. – Cheryl, Novant Health, Charlotte, NC. 3/22/23

At Pink-A-Dilly gift shop we have always charged for specialty gift bags. We carry 3-sizes and prices are $1.75, $2.25, and $2.75 which includes tissue paper and ribbon. We have done this for 21 years and people love it. They can choose their size and pattern which we keep all bags in view on a slatboard wall. I order them from Nashville Wraps. Bags given at purchase of merchandise, we do not charge for. We use pink plastic bags also purchased from Nashville wraps. Works great! – Debbie Swan, Pink-A- Dilly Gift Shop, Mountain Home, AR. 268 beds. 6/16/23

We charge for the specialty birthday, congratulations etc. bags but not our regular paper bags. We do have reusable bags with our logo that we recently got. Right now, we are doing a promotion to get customers into the habit of using them (and saving us money by not needing our paper bags). We hand out to our loyalty customers at purchase. Inside the bags are coupons for 10% and 15% off in the month of May, June and July. It has been very effective. In addition, it advertises for us too. – Jodi Babineau, Sunshine Gift Shoppe, Lakeview Medical Center, Rice Lake, WI. 40 beds. 4/18/23.

We do not charge and they remain pretty inexpensive for us through Nashville Wraps, but the key is ensuring that you receive free freight. I did switch to a plain plastic bag and I think that cost us .24 cents per bag. Most of our customers spend well over that so it’s okay. – Ali McCrary. Good Samaritan, Vincennes, IN. 232 beds. 4/22/23

Yes, we charge for gift bags. We have basic price points for the kraft paper bags and do have some premium glossy bags. We use Nashville Wraps. – Greg Holtgrewe. Baptist Health Paducah, Paducah, KY. 300 beds. 4/18/23

We charge for the specialty birthday, congratulations etc. bags but not our regular paper bags. We do have reusable bags with our logo that we recently got. Right now, we are doing a promotion to get customers into the habit of using them (and saving us money by not needing our paper bags). We hand out to our loyalty customers at purchase. Inside the bags are coupons for 10% and 15% off in the month of May, June and July. It has been very effective. In addition, it advertises for us too. – Jodi Babineau, Sunshine Gift Shoppe, Lakeview Medical Center, Rice Lake, WI. 40 beds. 4/18/23.

We only charge for specialty bags (1st baby, birthday, etc.). We do not charge for regular merchandise bags. – Peter Waugh, Memorial Hospital, North Conway, NH. 25 beds. 4/21/23.

No, we do not charge for shopping bags.  – Nancy Collins, New London Hospital, New London, NH. 25 beds. 4/26/23

We do not charge, use some reusable plastic and also Kraft bags with handles. Both can be used as gift bags when we add colorful tissue and curly ribbon. Customers really appreciate this. We buy from American Retail. – Whidbey Health Medical Center, Coupeville. 35 beds. 4/19/23

We do not charge for gift bags and we purchase from Dollar Tree and Amazon. We are a small hospital gift shop. – Janet Sherwood.  4/19/23

We buy gift bags from Dollar Tree and order from Kellis gift shop supplier to have for customers to buy when purchasing a gift. – Karen, South Austin Medical Clinic, Austin, TX. 4/19/23

No charge. We use Nashville Wraps; the price is reasonable – Tricia Rochman, Carbondale Memorial Hospital, Carbondale, IL. 154 beds. 4/19/23

We do not charge for gift bags. We offer brown handle bags with colored tissue and ribbon as a courtesy to our guests. We do offer gift bags from the giftwrap company at retail for those who want a little more. – Kevin Shaw, Methodist Hospital Gift Shop, St. Louis Park, MN. 4/19/23

We do not charge for gift bags as we feel this is a courtesy for shopping with us. If they do not purchase a gift from the Gift Shop and they want a gift bag, we do charge a small fee. – Deb Kerr, Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City. 385 beds. 4/19/23

We charge for gift bags and we have all different sizes and shapes. we carry pink merch bags that we do not charge for and get them through Nashville wrap. – Christine Parker, Kent Hospitality Shop, Warwick. 359 beds. 4/19/23

We do not charge at time of purchase however we build the cost into our product costs. – Shauna Morgan, Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital in Saskatoon, Canada. 4/19/23

We do not charge for shopping bags if the customer makes a purchase. However, we do charge if they don’t. – Laura Keipert, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, GA. 4/18/23

See similar question from 2022: shopping bag vendors.