SMOKY MOUNTAIN GIFT SHOW PREVIEW

NOVEMBER 10-13, 2021

Gifts of All Stripes (From page 71)

just sort of hitting all bases.” Strait is seeing more of a shift in customers’ general shopping preferences—”People are purchasing more from small independents and skipping the Amazon site,” he said. Hopkins is seeing more customers invest in higher-quality items and the classic, recognized brands like Fisher-Price, Mattel, Nerf, and Hot Wheels. “RADA knives are more expensive, but they are made in the U.S. and last,” she said. Patten said gnomes in all forms—“cloth, cement, ceramic”—are trending, as well as items with bumblebee motifs, which she said they “can’t keep in stock. Wooden signs are another big trend. Sincere Surroundings is a new company that just came out. Their products are good. Their sayings are beautiful, the coloring is pretty. Their products are different from others I’ve seen.”

Merchandising is essential for showing off products’ various features and arranging them in a way that encourages sales. Marcus said in his community, there is even greater emphasis on creating impressive displays. “Spring Green is a tourist community based on the arts. We have a lot of art galleries and many of our fellow merchants are artists. The competition in terms of visual display is very high. It keeps us constantly thinking about how to display goods. We usually try to create themes, especially on our end caps, which usually starts when we’re buying merchandise. We look at what will go together and essentially tell a story,” he said. Patten’s 15,000-square-foot store is located on a highway, so she arranges most of her lawn and garden items outside to attract drivers’ attention. “People always comment on our outdoor display. They’ll say, ‘We just had to stop,’ ” she said. “[A good display] makes everything look attractive so it makes people want to stop and purchase. Customers can tell when you have taken the time to make your shop look nice.” Inside her shop, Patten utilizes grouping similar items as an effective display tip. “I’ll have the blueberries in one place, put the jewelry all together. People always comment on how neat, organized, and uncluttered my store is,” she added. Strait’s display tip is stick to the basics: “Neat, organized, and decorated to invoke an emotion. Merchandising is how you introduce the product to the customer.”

Hopkins’ display tip is to focus on a single product. For instance, “We have an old screen door display we made so we can feature a single door hanger, garden flag, and door rug. We have a Hoosier cabinet that works well to spotlight the RADA knives. And we use social media to feature our new products--Instagram, FB, snapchat, and TikTok.” Another tip from Hopkins is to use furniture as display pieces so customers can see how items might look in their home. “We also have a fake fireplace/mantel setup which we decorate each season so people can see how our seasonal decorations work together.” ❖

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