Getting Shoppers Excited About the Extras

Jewelry, Handbags, Footwear and Socks at Boutiques

By Carimé Lane

Accessories are important for customers and store owners alike. The right accessory brings an outfit together, expresses personality and can be used to complement other outfits in a customer’s closet as well. Boutique store owners can help customers curate an outfit with accessories and boost their bottom line. Here four boutique owners talk about sales trends of jewelry, handbags, footwear and socks, how to sell more of these items and the atmosphere they strive to create in their boutiques.

Where handbags and jewelry are concerned, Christine Boring , owner of Bungalow Boutique & Gifts, buys from vendors where she’ll receive one or two pieces of a style in store, not 10 or 12 of the same thing. This means she has a great variety for customers to choose from. She currently offers two handbag lines and five jewelry lines.

To sell more items, a prime spot for display is next to the check out. Boring has three earring displays on or next to the check out area in her 1,000-square-foot shop. They are a great “impulse purchase” she said. She’ll also attract customers with a discount for 2 pairs of earrings. They’re sold as one pair for $18 and two pairs for $30.

Boring suggests investing in good display items for jewelry. Show necklaces individually, not on a T rack display. When you have a bunch of things together, it doesn’t look special said Boring.

In addition, Boring ensures that no one around in a surrounding shop is selling the items in her shop by purchasing only from vendors that give her zip code protection.

“We offer great customer service,” said Boring of Bungalow, which brings in annual sales of $300,000. “[That includes] taking clothing into the dressing room, bringing extra sizes or other items while shoppers

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