CINDY’S NEWSLETTER for Gift Shop Managers

Cindy’s Newsletter for Gift Shop Managers delivers practical, ready-to-implement content to gift shop managers, retailers, and volunteers across the country. We help our readership of over 3,000 retailers optimize shop operations, grow revenue, and connect with one another. The newsletter is published monthly and free since 2001.

Have you paid your dues this quarter?

The value and richness of this newsletter comes from your participation. Do your part by submitting two comments per quarter, at minimum. Reply to reader’s questions listed throughout the newsletter (in green) or simply share what is working or isn’t working in your shop, a great selling product, a helpful website or resource, an operating question, your biggest challenge right now, a terrific vendor you’ve come across recently, tips on managing volunteers, or tips on managing yourself!

LEAVE A COMMENT! Click the green comment tags throughout the newsletter, enter it in the comment section, or send to cindy@cindyjonesassociates.com.

---

November 15, 2024

---

---

We are closing up shop

We are closing shop here at Cindy Jones Associates! Next month will mark the final issue of Cindy’s Newsletter for Gift Shop Managers.

The Facebook Group for Hospital Gift Shops will continue to thrive as a supportive space for professionals.

The website and Newsletter Archive will remain available as a free resource for all gift shop managers, providing valuable tools and insights for those continuing the important work in hospital gift shops.

See you next month for a final farewell!

– Cindy

---

Tips to finish strong this holiday season

Keep the fourth quarter interactive — full of events, giveaways, intentional marketing and sparkle!

Examine the holiday season from previous years and make a list of successes and failures. Then stick with what worked and discard what didn’t, whether it be products, events, marketing, promotions or the like. And remember, what works in one shop might not work in your own. Every shop is unique with all kinds of variables that impact sales.

---

---

Some not-so-great merchandise displays

Let’s take dive into the good and the bad merchandise display. There are plenty of articles with tips on displaying your merchandise. Most provide examples of masterful displays. But, you rarely see the not-so-good displays. We hunted the internet to find bad examples. It’s “visual” merchandising, after all. More on that later in this article.

Never underestimate the power of good merchandise design techniques. It can make your shop go from “cheap” to professional. Research shows a visually appealing environment inspires spending.

Clutter is one of the most common mistakes in display design. Resist the temptation to display everything in your stockroom. Other attributes include color pallet, layout, texture, shape, proportion, repetition, elevation, and balance. All of these elements come together and create an effect on shoppers.

Good design leads the customer’s eye — and mind — through your shop. Clutter literally disrupts mental processing. Your eyes don’t know where to go and what to process first. Subconsciously, the mind is working to try and organize the clutter in some manner so it can process what it’s seeing. You don’t want your customers “working”. We want to see customers experience all the feel goods, consciously and subconsciously. Displays will often have a direct correlation to sales.

Merchandise displays can serve two purposes. First, they obviously present merchandise to the customer. But they can also encourage browsing. A well-designed display can lead the shopper’s attention through various sections or pods in the display. Their attention shifts from one pod to the next, mentally “consuming” the merchandise—and, hopefully, making a purchase! Remember, the pods should also compliment each other such that the display is perceived as a total body of work. Pods can also be linear, helping the shopper navigate through the merchandise. Take the following example:

Use repetition. Display a product in groups of 4 or more,depending on the items size.

Height is your friend. Elevate items using creative risers (chair, wood crates, stacked books, etc.). You can also use product to create height, such as the Santas in the example above.

Use a Triangle of Interest, arranging merchandise with the tallest items in back, smaller items flanking the side, and the smallest items in front.

Setup displays near the door and keep your door open as much as you can- you’ll lose a ridiculous amount of walk-ins by having it closed. Consumer behavior is a funny thing.

There are also plenty of beautiful displays that break all these rules. But, what they do have is a single binding attribute, such as a well-defined color pallet, a certain theme, cross merchandising approach, or a fully-staged and accessorized lifestyle display.

Now, back to the not-so-good merchandise displays where design techniques could have been better utilized. This is not to say that are entirely bad displays. But, the leave some room for improvement.

CLICK TO EXPAND

---

Preparing your team for the holidays

by RETAIL DETAILS

From your newest staff members to employees who have been with you for years, every single person on your team can use a review of procedures coming into the busiest season.

November is the perfect time to make sure that your team feels confident using your store’s POS (point of sale) system particularly when it comes to your loyalty program, gift cards and returns/exchanges. Many of you will benefit if your staff has familiarity with your inventory control processes and shipping procedures, as well.

• If you have employees who return to work seasonally, it’s important to review what has changed since they last worked in your store.
• For many retailers, gift card sales and redemptions are not daily transactions, so it’s important to review any gift card guidelines with all employees review exactly how to ring them up in your POS system when sold or redeemed.
• All staff members should know which categories, departments or lines have additional back stock and exactly where they can find things quickly.

PRO TIP: Try to eliminate the need for back stock on your most popular items. Rather than have a little bit of everything in the back room, it’s much easier for your staff if you only have back stock of certain things. For instance, for popular sellers like candles and tea towels, keep all stock on the sales floor and only use backroom space for bigger items or things that are more easily restocked as they sell.

Keep reading for more pro tips that include three retailers’ specific reasoning and one insight from a retailer who disagrees that cross-training is a good idea…..

SOURCE: Becky Tyre, Retail Details

Becky is a writer, retail coach, shop local advocate and Retail Details owner. With 40+ years of retail consulting experience, she helps retailers be more successful. @retaildetails

We love Retail Details by Becky Tyre. We encourage you to subscribe! All their content is hands-on and applies to all retailers. Subscribe to get full access to the retail tips newsletter and her complete archives.

---

NRF 2024 holiday consumer spending expectations

The National Retail Federation (NRF) announced that consumer spending this winter holidays is expected to reach a record $902 per person on average across gifts, food, decorations and other seasonal items, according to NRF’s latest consumer survey. Of the $902 shoppers plan to spend, approximately $641 is on gifts for family, friends, co-workers and more, which is an increase from $620 last year. The remaining $261 will be spent on other seasonal items such as food or candy, decorations, greeting cards and other holiday items.

This holiday season, consumers will head to various shopping destinations for gifts and other items on their lists. Online remains the top destination this year, with 57% of consumers planning on making their holiday purchases online. This is followed by department stores (46%), grocery stores and supermarkets (46%) and discount stores (45%).

Read more in 2024 Holiday Spending Expected to Reach New Record

SOURCE: NRF

---

---

Four great holiday events

Read more in Finishing Strong: 15 tips for holiday sales at Gift Shop Plus.

---

SHVL Annual Conference

Save the date! This year’s annual conference for the Society for Healthcare Volunteer Leaders will be held in New Orleans on March 13-15, 2025. Registration is now open! The conference includes events focused on hospital gift shops.

---

Auxiliary funds phone charging stations in ER

As a nonprofit organization, the Berger Hospital Gift Shop Volunteers’ mission is clear: Every penny raised through the gift shop is reinvested into the hospital, enhancing patient care and supporting the various departments.

Their most recent contribution to the hospital came in the form of cell phone charging stations for the Emergency Department and surgery waiting area, after volunteers noticed a steady increase of requests from gift shop patrons for various device chargers.

♡ Connect. Share. Grow. ♡

---

---

Discussions have moved to the Hospital Gift Shops group on Facebook

300+ members
Advice, inspiration, product best sellers
Private and vetted membership
Hospital gift shop professionals only!

↓ Click to join ↓

♡ Connect. Share. Grow. ♡

---

Want to advertise? Click here.

© Cindy Jones Associates, 2022. COPYRIGHT PROTECTED. Redistribution, copying, reselling, re-renting, or republishing is STRICTLY PROHIBITED. Cindy’s Newsletter may not to be forwarded, redistributed, reproduced, reprinted, or posted online without prior permission from Cindy Jones Associates. Subscribers may share one issue with a fellow manager. Thereafter, the manager may subscribe here to receive future issues.