Special Gifts Section

The Sky’s the Limit (From page 45) essence,” she said. “They glow in the afternoon sunlight shining into our lobby shop.”

A cozy double-sided blanket by artist Shantell Martin is also popular at the 1,150-square-foot shop at the Whitney Museum. It’s bold and graphic, in a neutral black and cream palette. “It welcomes viewers to ask themselves ‘who are you,’ and then affirms them with a resounding ‘you are you,’” Heslin said. Before COVID, the shop averaged $2.5 million to $3.8 million in sales annually.

Drawing Attention to High-End Items

In order to get customers to notice quality gifts, Cunningham has several suggestions. He likes to place high-end items in areas where people will pass by more than once and not just when they enter or exit the gift shop. Lighting that highlights an item’s quality and brings it to people’s attention is also key. He will also rotate items in their own labeled sections because return customers will pass right by items they’re used to seeing. Making a quick video of an item and posting it on social media has also worked well.

MacPherson places prints in the front focal window directly opposite the entrance to the exhibit area. “Having products that speak directly to the exhibit helps tremendously,” he said.

When Janes displays related items, she always places them together to create a theme. For instance, all of the shop’s bourbon-related merchandise is in one part of the shop and each table is thematic. “If someone finds one thing they want to purchase, they may spy another one right next to it,” she said.

Well-lit feature tables with products front and center are a great way to grab guests’ eyes. Buxton merchandises high-end items with corresponding impulse or complementary middle-of-the-road items that could be purchased together, creating a story around the theme of the high-end product. “When you can create a wellbalanced story that a guest can easily translate, it makes the product more appealing,” she said. The shop garners $395,000 annually. ❖