Selling Gifts at Gift Shops and Boutiques

By Carimé Lane

Placing an item on a shelf is just the start when it comes to effectively selling gifts. Gift shop and boutique owners also need to keep a trained eye on finding unique gifts, training staff and theft prevention. Read on to hear from five gift shop and boutique store owners for their take on these topics.

Ifat Pridan , owner of Lili The First, a clothing boutique located in Washington, D.C., imparts the need to focus on what your store is mainly selling when it comes to selling more gifts. This focus will attract customers who enjoy your business, and will pick up gifts for their friends because they want to share the experience they had in your shop.

There are many channels that help a shop owner find unique gifts, said Pridan. “If we limit ourselves to one channel, we will not be as unique,” she explained. For LiLi The First, these channels include designers they are already working with, Instagram, travelling and taking recommendations from customers.

Pridan instructs staff to listen to the customer very carefully and ask questions of the customer. Questions may seem annoying at first, but after asking three or four questions, staff know precisely what the customer is looking for. Customers appreciate this because it narrows their options, saving them time and the confusion too many choices can bring. When they ask questions like this, Pridan finds she’ll sell the item to a customer 90 % of the time.

At the 1,000-square-foot say say boutique in Portland, Ore., Sarah Utrup , owner, said she engages customers by chatting about their holiday gift list. Through these conversations, she can help customers locate the hard-to-find gifts on their list. What’s more: while she’s speaking with the customer on this topic, she finds it helps the customer remember there was one or two people they had forgotten to include on their list.

Because they look for local unique or independent businesses–and due to Covid restrictions –Utrup has found online shopping, particularly FAIRE to be useful. The site allows you to search using filters to help you find merchandise that aligns with your values. Filters include ‘Women-Owned,’ ‘Made in the USA,’ or

‘Not Sold on Amazon.’ “It’s really easy to find great fits for the shop,” said Utrup. Products on Faire can also be easily transitioned into the store because Faire includes photos and descriptions on their website, Utrup said.

Utrup tells staff to be available to both those who need help and customers who don’t need immediate attention. At this time of year, shoppers are often looking for gifts, and their customers have a lot more questions. “We just offer ourselves to help,” Utrup said.

At Amelia, a 914-square-foot dress boutique also located in Portland, Owner Amelia Blakeman is a fan of engaging with the customer to “get a feeling for what they might be looking for, but haven’t realized it

Continued on page 54