Cindy’s Newsletter

Thank you to our sponsors!

This month we celebrate our sponsors. The newsletter would not be possible without them.

Changing the hospital gift shop stereotype
June is National Candy Month
How to respond to unhappy customers
The Big List of wholesale markets
Job Openings
Q. Do you charge for shopping bags?
MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center gift shop is a destination for shoppers
Nurses Day: Saturday, May 6
Guide to Calculating Shop Inventory
Gift Market Calendar

Restrictions on social media usage
PROS & CONS: Faire, Handshake, Tundra, Abound, Etsy
Source for quality jewelry spinners?
Ten ways to tackle inflation in 2023
Pink-A-Dilly Gift Shop
Stockabl: Shop wholesale directly from artisans
Gift Market Calendar

Three new must-have skills for retail buyers
Q. Source for quality jewelry spinners?
Victoria’s Gift Shop online store
Q. Have you tried flower vending machines? Why or why not?
2023 holiday preview
Q. Restrictions on social media usage?
March action plan
New line discovered at Atlanta Gift Show: PUNCHKINS!
Gift Market Calendar

How one gift shop is selling custom gift baskets online
Proof that social media can increase sales
Upcoming holidays
Q. Have you tried flower vending machines? Why or why not?
Survey Results: Do you use a cash register or POS system?
Winter action items
Video: Go inside Mass General Hospital gift shop
Hospitals’ volunteers run risk of skirting federal labor laws
Gift Market Calendar

Robots deliver shop purchases to patients
4 ways to crush it in 2023
Product Pick: Luckables
A. How to work around IT firewalls for gift cards?
2022 Income Statement
Tallahassee Memorial Gift Shop
The costly impact of too much inventory
Move merchandise with a Power Lunch Flash Sale
Have you written your resolutions goals for 2023!?
It’s Inventory Day!
SURVEY: Do you use a cash register or POS system?
A. Does your shop use Emporos POS?
Gift Market Calendar

Retailing tips for the holiday season
Free guide: Developing & Managing Volunteer Programs
Q. Work around firewalls for gift cards?
Holiday idea: LIGHT-UP SALE
Q. What are your best selling products that light up?
Small Business Saturday: Nov 26, 2022
Job Openings
A. Who are some vendors for cancer items?
Two winning lottery tickets sold at local hospital gift shops
Q. Does your shop use Emporos POS?
Grafton City Hospital gift shop reopens, three years after COVID
Gift Market Calendar

Vista Health’s new hybrid gift shop
A. I’m new to retail. What POS system do you suggest?
Q. Who are some vendors for cancer items?
This will drive your customers away
A. What are some options/vendors for custom shopping bags?
Post-pandemic shifts in hospital gift shop operations
October action items
"I must have that!" social media feed
Gift Market Calendar

Baptist Health Gift Shop nominated for Retail Excellence Award
Q. I’m new to retail. What POS system do you suggest?
Product Pick: Luckables
A. Vendors for lobby sales?
Best New Product Awards: NY NOW
Q. Options/vendors for custom shopping bags?
Hospital gift shops closing in 2022
Same-day sourcing: Fall Cash & Carry, AmericasMart, Atlanta
Q. Vendor for frog and turtle gift items?
Job Openings
Gift Shop volunteers support patient care
Gift Market Calendar

A place of refuge, of safety: the hospital gift shop
Ten ways to increase store visibility, internally and externally
Product Pick: Luckables
Patient care products
Volunteers keep Coastal Carolina Hospital gift shop running during pandemic
‘Going to Market’ tips!
A. ISO a “hip kits” vendor for hip replacement patients?
Q. Vendors for lobby sales?
What’s hot for Christmas 2022?
How to conduct a physical inventory
New shop opening: Hydra Health at Henry Cancer Center
Gift Market Calendar

You need an awful lot of heart
Name your shop’s top categories with the best profit margins. Go!
A: What gift markets do you attend?
National Candle Association: Fire hazard warning
12-Month Action Plan for Hospital Gift Shops
A: Is there a better method than handwriting POs?
Q. ISO a “hip kits” vendor for hip replacement patients?
Why have a monthly buyer’s meetings
10 Commandments of Good Customer Service
Advertising: IRS rules for hospital gift shops
Stanford Health Care Gift Shop wins Retail Excellence Award!
Gift Market Calendar

What actually constitutes shoplifting
Twig Gift Shop celebrates 75 years
Q. What gift markets do you attend?
Job Openings
Top most useful retail formulas
Q. Is there a better method than handwriting POs?
Gift Shop Manager Salaries
An auxiliary fundraiser idea
Hospital gift shop design, con’t
Gift Market Calendar

Gift shop reopens after two-year COVID closure
RESPONSES: Do you sell any alternatives to live flowers?
Free Guide: Cash-and-Carry Wholesale Warehouses
Payroll deduction for online stores
SALARY DATA: Hospital Gift Shop Manager
Q. Do you allow personal (wholesale) purchases?
Early holiday 2022 preview
Buyers' personal purchases (at wholesale)
Q. Is there a better process than handwriting POs?
Are your sales in line with your shop’s total square feet?
Gift Market Calendar

What have we learned in recent years
Q. Alternatives to live flowers?
Most wanted for Mother’s Day
GiftBeat’s top sellers for April
Shop renovations: Mini-department store approach
Q. Does your online store have payroll deduction?
May Action Plan
PART 2: Do you have a loyalty program or keytags?
Teacher Appreciation Week | May 2-6, 2022
NRF annual retail forecast: 6-8% growth
Q. Do you have a resource for African-American Santas?
Gift Market Calendar

Inflationary pressures are coming
New gift shop construction at Trinity Health
National Healthcare Volunteer Week: Apr 17-23
Trends and predictions for 2022
RESPONSES: What are some fresh new jewelry lines?
Q. Does your shop offer loyalty program keytags?
Single-channel, omnichannel and multichannel retailing
Generating non-seasonal sales
Job Openings
Q. What vendors sell products made in America?
2021 Best Sellers, Christmas Vendors, Decline in Volunteers, Snack Vendor
Gift Market Calendar

Solutions to common cash wrap/checkout counter problems
2022 fashion trends + Color of the Year
RESPONSES: What were your best sellers in 2021?
How to deliver negative feedback well: 4 things good managers do
Q. What are some fresh new jewelry lines for 2022?
100 Retail Blogs
RESPONSES: How have you dealt with the decline in volunteers during the pandemic?
Three keys to continual retail growth
RESPONSES: What snack vendor do you use?
Shrinkage | PART 2. Preventing inventory shortages
Q. Need a vendor to source Christmas merchandise?
Q. What book distributors sell current best sellers? 
Gift Market Calendar

Try setting New Year Goals, instead of resolutions
What is your shop’s niche category?
ARBA POS releases fully integrated online store
Q. How have you dealt with the decline in volunteers during COVID?
Canada hospital opens pop-up gift shop in local mall
Best Sellers of 2021
Q. Which book distributors offer current best sellers?
How to escape your comfort zone
Our volunteers are the epitome of humankindness
Q. What snack vendor do you use?
Shrinkage | PART 1. Preventing inventory shortages
Gift Market Calendar

To our loyal readers
Do this the last 12 days of December
We are now on LinkedIN!
12 last-minute tips to grow your holiday sales
Survey Results: Gift show travel budgets
TCMH gift shop reopens for staff, patient visitors
To-Dos List for the first week in January
RESPONSES: Good scrub vendors
Tips for maximizing Atlanta market from past attendees
Calendar: Gift Markets

Be prepared for the holiday onslaught
Record retail sales predicted for holidays
MHS Caring Hearts Gift Shop reaches sales goal
Truly creative holiday displays. Truly!
SURVEY: Does your budget include travel expenses to a major gift show in January?
Anti-anxiety toys are high on Christmas lists this year
Q: What are some good scrub vendors?
Retailers dial back this year’s holiday promos
The ideal hospital gift shop manager, according to management
Top 6 hospital gift shop Facebook pages
Calendar: Gift Markets

How to create animated product videos + free template
All that you are to your hospital
When should holiday merchandise be displayed?
Do this one thing everyday before opening your shop
Is it time to renovate: Sample request letter
RESPONSES: Do you use HospitalGiftShop for your online store?
Reopening after the pandemic: One shop’s story
Post-holiday inventory: stock up now
Shop Sign: 12 Days of Savings! (download)
Calendar: Gift Markets

October action plan
Trend report for Spring/Summer 2022
RESPONSES: What is your markups in this post-COVID market?
Men’s holiday gifts
Survey Results: Do you have staff payroll deduction?
Q. Do you use HospitalGiftShop for your online store?
5 ways to get a bigger share of the holiday sales pie
RESPONSES: Is anyone selling vaccination card holders/protectors?
Social Media Tip: Create animated product videos like this!
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences

Rev up your holiday planning now
Top 10 display tips
SURVEY: Do you have employee payroll deduction?
Q. What is your current markup in this post-COVID market?
PROMO: Summer Sizzler Father’s Day Raffle
Job Openings
Guelph General Hospital gift shop launches online store
Product Pick: LEGO flashlight keychains
Q. Is anyone selling vaccination card holders/protectors?
Marketing Tip: Motivate hospital employees to shop
Social Media Example: Dot Sale Promo
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences

PART 4. Creating an online store:
Getting pro bono help
Student volunteer, intern, work study
Agencies, developer, and freelancers
Bundled POS and ecommerce services
Full or partially outsourced options
Online resources and tools
Summer action list
How does loss occur
Q. Do you have an in-house floral shop?
What is ‘Open to Buy’?
Merchandise mix
Scratch-off card promotion (DIY Tutorial)
Protocol for reinstating volunteers
Plant vendor
Customer reward/loyalty program
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences

PART 3. Creating an online store:
Branding and design
Navigation and menus
Product images and how to photograph
Shopping cart, check out, payment
Delivery, shipping, returns, exchanges
Don’t reinvent the wheel!
Q. What is your protocol for reinstating volunteers?
Tips for attending AmericasMart Atlanta Market
Q. Do you have an in-house floral shop?
Featured: Twig Gift Shop
Job Openings
Q. Scrub hat vendor?
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences

PART 2. Creating an online store:
Startup and operating costs
Getting started
Selecting an eCommerce platform
POS and other integrations
Research, plan, and then execute
Example online shops
More shops reopening!
Tote Sale
Red-carpet welcome for volunteers at UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital
Free Template: Customer Satisfaction Survey
Q. Scrub hat vendor?
Online Store: Discussion
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences

PART I. Creating an online store
Exemplary online shops
Eliminating barriers to sale
Is an online store worth it?
Capturing “shop local” sales online
Managers share their pros and cons
The art of simple displays
Best-selling post-pandemic items
Online fundraisers
Readers recommendations on background music
Ongoing impact of COVID-19
Solutions to old inventory taking up space
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences

Spring Action Plan
SURVEY RESULTS: Has your shop reopened?
Q. What background music do you play in your shop?
When to take markdowns
Best-selling post-pandemic items
Experience with online fundraisers
Q. What do you do with old inventory that is taking up space?
Wholesaler Pick: The Coral Crab
Creating an online store
Vendor for customer shopping bags
Magazine, paperback vendors
Financial reporting system
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences

2020 holiday sales exceed forecasts
Why high inventory equals lower gross margins
Hospital gift shop Christmas catalog
SURVEY: Has your shop reopened?
Five strategies to smoothly handle a workplace confrontation
Which lines had the best customer service in 2020?
Create a 'spend-worthy' impression of your shop
Creating an online store
Vendor for customer shopping bags
Magazine and book vendors
Financial reporting system
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences

Good riddance 2020. Hello 2021!
Product Pick: Laughter
The new year’s resolution paradox
Job Openings
Best vendors of 2020: VOTE!
10 best products for nurses and doctors
Finding best sellers in current times
Tips for achieving customer service excellence
Standard merchandise markups
Coordinating multi-location shops
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences

COVID-19 can’t cancel the holidays!
Survey: Where do you discover best sellers
Product Pick: Nodpod™
How two shops are driving sales through COVID
Q. How do multi-location shops coordinate purchasing, deliveries, and accounting?
How to conduct a physical inventory
December to January checklist
Baby apparel vendor
Replacing volunteers with paid staff
What's a good holiday gourmet food line?
What should my shop’s net profit margin be?
How is COVID affecting your gift shop?
Virtual tradeshows and online showrooms
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences

What I learned as a Gift Shop Manager
Can paid staff also volunteer
Survey Results: Do you have an online store?
Q. What vendors offer baby apparel that sells well?
'Open The Joy' products for hospitalized children
Replacing volunteers with employed staff
December Action Plan
Diffuse the combustible customer
Sometimes, even gift shops hire dishonest people
Q. Holiday gourmet food line?
Job Description: Gift Shop Manager [Free]
Virtual tradeshows and online showrooms
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences

Welcome to the Golden Quarter
Create videos of your merchandise
Q. What vendors offer baby apparel that sells well?
Start planning holiday events now!🎄
Coronado gift shop adapts and innovates around COVID-19
Q. Holiday gourmet food line?
Podcasts: stale inventory, fear of selling, fear of buying
SURVEY: Do you have an online store?
RESULTS: Have you recently attended or plan to attend a gift market?
How we lead: acknowledging and encouraging
Virtual tradeshows and online showrooms
Comparing your shop’s sales with others
Candle line recommendations?
Hike in chocolate and candy prices
Volunteers, gift shops, fair labor law
How is the shutdown affecting your gift shop?
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences

Your shop & COVID-19
A holiday season like no other
Q. Is anyone using lobby kiosks/vending machines during shutdown?
SURVEY: Have you recently attended or plan to attend a gift market?
Q. Looking for COVID-19 novelty items?
These calculations show if you have excess inventory
Q. What are some good holiday gourmet food line?
Space and size benchmarks
Virtual Tradeshows and Online Showrooms
Plush. Plush. Plush
Forecasting…and facemasks
Q. Candle line recommendations?
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences

COVID-19 discussion
Fall checklist
Q. Do you think Facebook Shops would work for your gift shop?
SURVEY: Have you recently attended or plan to attend a gift market?
Readers Respond: Is it in bad taste to sell COVID-19 novelty items?
Four Trends: How COVID-19 will shape holiday retail shopping in 2020
Best practices on combating theft and shrinkage
Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital Gift Shop donates $350,000
Two big, but simple, changes for your shop
Virtual Tradeshows and Online Showrooms
Build a creative thinking environment in your shop
Mill House Gifts opens in Russell Medical
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences

Shops that have reopened
Video: Reopening Your Store 2020 by Cathy Donovan Wagner
SURVEY: Is it in bad taste to sell COVID-19 novelty items?
The influence of team cohesiveness
Direct ship programs
Sales forecasting
Free Seminar: Action In Retail
Q. What is your buyer policy for purchasing merchandise?
Seven reasons team meetings are a waste of time
Virtual Showrooms
Webinar: Digital Marketing for Hospital Gift Shops
Selling behind a mask: Connecting while social distancing

Discussion: What's been your experience since reopening?
What vendors are offering the best discounts right now?
Will the pandemic change how retailers buy?
Selling behind a mask: Connecting while social distancing
SURVEY: Is it in bad taste to sell COVID-19 novelty items?
RESULTS: What is the annual cost of your POS system?
Introducing Facebook Shops
Job Openings
Part II: Why write your own purchase orders?
Your shop’s mission
Direct ship programs
Looking for a new manager or clerk?
Buying post coronavirus
COVID-19 themed items
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences

Discussion: How is the coronavirus affecting your gift shop?
7-Eleven opens hospital pop-up store
Checklist: No-contact shop operations
SURVEY: What is the annual cost of your POS system?
Vendor request: please help us get paid
COVID-19 Hospital Gift Shop Webinars
Virtual gift shows and online digital marketplaces
Operation Open Doors is ‘like having a roadmap’ to reopening after COVID-19
Hospital employees make up 60-75% of a gift shop’s customer base
Vendors direct-ship programs
Part I: Why write your own purchase orders?
Dallas Market Center reopens
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences

Discussion: How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your gift shop?
Where to start? Returning to your gift shop after coronavirus
COVID-19 Webinar for Hospital Gift Shop Managers
SURVEY: Is your gift shop currently open, closed, or some variant during COVID-19?
RESULTS: How many gift markets do you attend annually?
Preparing your POS and resuming sales after the coronavirus
Setup for Success: Reopening your gift shop after the coronavirus by by Anne M. Obarski
Quality items for $15
Why maintain inventory and financials 'at retail'?
How often should we change our displays?
Shop your own shop!
Curtail deep-discount customers
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences

Coronavirus discussion and questions
Gift market cancellations
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences
Retailers share how they’re coping with COVID-19
SURVEY: How many gift markets do you attend annually?
RESULTS: What POS system do you use?
Why inventory turn is so important
We're open! Gift Shop Hours
Best practices for plush displays
Five ways to be a better leader
Why maintain inventory and financials 'at retail'? Quality product for $15
Curtail deep discount shoppers
Shop your own gift shop

Gift Shop Q&A
Contagious customer service
Current state of the hospital gift shop industry
Get ready for Mother's Day and Easter
Shop design for 2020
Ten display rules
SURVEY: What POS system do you use?
RESULTS: Do you get an annual bonus or sales-based incentive?
February Action Plan
Spring/Summer clothing distributor
Dressing room alternatives
Price of standard candy bar
What POS system do you use?
Q. What is your best selling category?
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences

Gift Shop Discussion
Get the most out of AmericasMart
2020 Vision for 2020
Create instant themed displays
Gift shop volunteers and clerks
SURVEY: Do you get an annual bonus or sales-based incentive?
The J Months
10 retail resolutions
January Action Plan
Dressing room alternatives
Vendors for baby items and backpacks
Physical inventory
Best sellers
Were your November sales down?
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences

Gift Shop Q&A
What is the value of a hospital gift shop
Donated merchandise
What category or department accounts for the highest sales and most space in your shop?
Tip on space allocation
Volunteer appreciation: Simply saying thanks
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences
Oprah’s favorite things for 2019
What’s selling? The top shelf-movers
How to calculate...
Fragrance vendor
Twelve days of Christmas sale
America's Mart vs NY NOW
Best sellers
Employee discounts on gift cards
Gift bag vendor?

Gift Shop Q&A
Snack bar brands
What category or department accounts for the highest sales in your shop?
Do you calculate tariffs separately?
Gift Shop Manager job openings
What category or department occupies the most space in your shop?
How to calculate...
Strong September sales
Personal conversations around gift shop customers
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences
Good gift shop managers have thick skin
Best sellers
Fragrance vendor America's Mart or NY NOW

Gift Shop Q&A
Top gift markets: what to know before you got
2019 holiday forecast
Greeting cards
Hallmark to close 'Home and Gifts division
Gift Shop Manager Job Openings
You need heart!
What's hot
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences
Best sellers
Employee discounts on gift cards
Gift bag vendor
CBD oil
Breast cancer pins
Candle line

Gift Shop Discussion
Social media influencing near-record Halloween spending
October Action Plan
Start planning now for holiday events
Gift Shop Manager Job Openings
Policy: Personal Purchases
Overcome common problems launching a hospital gift store website
Jewelry trends
CBD – or Not CBD?
Are you selling CBD?
Breast cancer pins
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences
Who determines where your gift shop profits go?
TSR Wholesale
Auxiliary, twigs, or other volunteer organizations

Gift Shop Discussion
October action plan
Gift Shop Job Openings
Miles gift shop closes as hospital league shifts focus
Hallmark opens inside renown regional medical center
Bounty auxiliary adds online to BMH gift shop
August retail sale grew 4.1% over the last year but new tariffs present ‘Downside Risk’
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences
Maggie’s gift shop at UM SRH in Easton completes renovation
Americans love their pets
The 10/10 System
CBD oil
Breast cancer pins
Where your gift shop's profits go
POS System: Square
Two successful ideas

Manager Q&A Discussion
Setting goals and action plan
Why gift shops need a POS system
Does your merchandise excite your customers?
Calendar: Gift Markets and Regional Conferences
October is breast cancer awareness month
Order now for men's gift giving!
Return policy for the holidays
Pricing guidelines
Annual performance reviews
Volunteer recognition ideas
Gift cards
Candle line
CBD Oil
Four top sellers