4 minute read
Retail Advice
Summer
sales heat up
Holidaymakers ensure summer is a busy time for greeting card shops in the right location - and can even drive the early stocking of Christmas products, as Henri Davis explains
As I write this we are enjoying lots of summer sunshine and many of us are heading off on holiday. But what does an influx of visitors mean for retailers? How will their sales of cards change over the holiday period? I thought I would ask those in popular holiday destinations what difference it is making for them this year.
Jessica Hogarth is an illustrator and card publisher with a card and gift shop in Robin Hood’s Bay, North Yorkshire, which she runs with her partner Phil.
Jessica says: “In terms of our shop - we sell a lot more of everything between the months of May and September, which is our peak period footfall wise. We are predominantly a tourist destination and our locally-inspired cards designed by myself and Ilona Drew (top, far right) sell particularly well during the peak summer season.
“All year round our best sellers have to be Louise Mulgrew’s (top, left) illustrative and charming cards as well as Rosie Made a Thing’s humorous offering, and we sell significant quantities of their cards over the summer. We have stocked both of these publishers since we opened two years ago, and they will continue to have a space on our shelves.
“We do have many supportive local buyers who shop with us regularly, but we need the additional summer visitor footfall; the shop would not survive on local shoppers alone.’’
To date Jessica hasn’t placed much importance on buying for seasonal occasions such as Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day but having tried some Father’s Day cards this year, which sold very well, she will review seasonal opportunities for 2023. Christmas is important, and the best sellers at Christmas are Jessica’s locally-inspired, gold-foiled Christmas packs, which sell better than single cards - although they will continue to offer both.
Jessica’s shop has only been open two years and because of the impact of Covid they are yet to have a ’normal’ year. “This means we are still learning customer buying patterns, what they really want to buy and how far we can go volume-wise for these types of occasion,’’ she says.
The Eco Friendly Card Company is a card publisher in the South West, which supplies retailers large and small.
For co-founder Sue Morrish, sales start to lift before the Easter holidays and don’t end on the August Bank Holiday but extend to the end of September because her retailers find September is a really good month for sales, as people without young children go on holiday. “In the South West we can have lovely weather into late September and these holidaymakers often have more disposable income,’’ she explains.
“With regard to the artists that we do especially well with over the summer I would definitely say Becky Bettesworth (top right; bottom right) with her vintage-style images of local scenes and water sportsbased imagery. As well as single cards we offer the mini-card packs with her designs, which are popular gifts.’’ Becky’s cards definitely follow the extended summer sales pattern described above.
“Other collections we do well with are Nikky Corker with her very funny larger-than-life characters paddling or swimming (bottom, left) and our iconic photographic Ebb&Flow collection, which is inspired by the coast.’’
These two ranges illustrate effectively just how broad a range you need at this time of year.
When I was the card buyer at the National Trust, our card sales increased significantly across all genres because of the huge increase of visitors. But maybe more surprisingly, we launched our Christmas card and calendar ranges at the end of June, much to some people’s disgust, because over the years we had found that those who only visited properties in the summer or who came from abroad wanted to buy them. We sold huge quantities in July and August.
Sue has found the same: “People on holiday often have more time for browsing. A lot of the tourist attractions we supply want to get these products in time for the summer holidays – for example we’ve printed a bespoke calendar for Westonbirt Arboretum and delivered this just before the summer holidays to take advantage of the extra footfall over the holidays.’’
Here in Coverack, summer is all about cards with local images - and the sales of postcards is far from dead. We sell 20 to 30 most days, with many purchasers commenting that they are being sent to grandparents, or neighbours to say thank you for keeping an eye on things at home, while some are kept as bookmarks.
Henri Davis is an independent retail advisor to businesses in the cards, gifts, stationery and heritage industries with more than 35 years of retail experience. She worked for Habitat, Next, WHSmith and the National Trust and now advises retailers, visitor attractions, manufacturers and suppliers. A past chairman of the Giftware Association, during lockdown she has taken over a village stores and moved to Cornwall. For more information visit www.henridavis.co.uk
