The present moment

Expand your customer offer with a selection of gifts to complement your greeting card stock…

Retail expert and Greetings Today columnist Henri Davies considers the foodie treats and other gifts that work well in her Cornwall seaside shop… Money may be tight for many of us but there are still times when we want to mark a special occasion with a card or gift. I believe that a gift can be anything that the recipient needs or wants; we don’t like to feel we are wasting money so gifts are likely to be things that the recipient will find useful and functional rather than gratuitous. As we all become more money focused I think useful and functional gifts will be seen as acceptable options by just about everyone.

If you agree with this idea of needs/wants gifting then it is quite possible that gifts can be found in the food arena. In my shop there are plenty of foodie treats, products that link to a food offer and others that are relevant to our location by the sea in Cornwall. Whatever the product, quality, presentation and price are critical. Only this week a lady came into the shop wanting to put together a selection of Cornish foodie treats for a vegan friend as a leaving present, and left with her purchase thrilled with what she had found.

When our visitors head home they will often take gifts for family, work colleagues or to say thank you to neighbours for watering plants or feeding pets. Clotted Cream Shortbread and Clotted Cream Fudge are often bought as thank you presents. At under £5 the price is right too.

As well as being delicious, products can be fun, and Josh’s Gigantic Chocolate buttons are a good example of this. Josh’s buttons are very big and with a bag having 10 big buttons in they are great for sharing; a fun after-dinner gift. The picture (top, centre) shows just how big they are alongside a Cadburys button and the flavour shown is milk chocolate with sea salt caramel pieces; what’s not to like!

We offer a very small range of non food gifts, too. I know from my time at the National Trust that tea towels and mugs are hugely popular gifts and I stock a very small range of good-quality mugs from Dunoon with imagery relevant to our seaside location. We also have tea towels carrying images from Coverack and the Lizard. I believe the £9.99 price point is critical and even though costs are going up and other local outlets are charging up to £14.99 for the same product I don’t believe my customers will pay that for them.

Coverack is on the South West Coast Path and so the book The Salt Path and its sequels are very significant for us and this, coupled with the amazing imagery by Angela Harding on the book covers, means that the product range developed around the book has become a strong seller for us. This is a good example of where the right product does allow you to push the price point boundaries, the jigsaw puzzle linked to the book is a good seller for us even though it is £14.99.

Vanessa Curry, MD at Best Kept Secrets, talks to Greetings Today about gifts for card shops…

Have you found there is increased demand for gifts suitable for card shops?

Yes absolutely, it has been a huge growth area for us over the past couple of years. Card shops are looking for opportunities to up-sell on their customers’ card purchases, as well as being able to offer something new. Perfect occasion gifts mean that card shops can become a one-stop shop for consumers for all their gift buying. Sentimental gifts, particularly like those we have in our Just Because collection, are popular all year round. The other key factor in card shops choosing Best Kept Secrets is our price point – our products are deliberately kept under £10.

Do you have specific ranges that do well in card shops as opposed to gift shops?

We created our best-selling Just Because collection for card shops. Created to give you the perfect gift for any occasion, our Just Because Collection of scented candles, gorgeous gift boxes and tea lights, feature our signature colourful and sparkly home fragrances, and come in a vessel containing meaningful or fun messages for every occasion. Are there any trends in this sector that we can look out for?

The trend that has dominated our new product development over the past two years is sustainability. Our supply chain is proudly British, and, wherever possible, we work with local suppliers. We also recently launched our 100% ethical and sustainable collection, Our Fragrant World. Made in collaboration with artist, Nicky Dawson, the collection has been created to be environmentally friendly, while still delivering fabulous fragrances, colour, and sparkle.