Souvenirs and Gifts Section

Trends in Souvenirs and Gifts (From page 57) worldwide where they’ve been working to preserve birds of prey.

The item they sell the largest quantities of, said Alicia Leacox , assistant director, are their postcards of avian ambassadors (for example, birds guests see on their visit). These 5-by-7 postcards feature photos captured by their volunteers. Logoed stickers of various sizes that guests can place on water bottles, cars, and so on, are their second-highest sellers. They’re simple, affordable, and something you can take home with you, Leacox said.

This year, custom facemasks were also a top seller. The shop’s bestselling face masks were fun, retro logoed masks in honor of their recent 50th anniversary, but they also sold other designs including silly eagle beak masks and graphics of various birds.

For kids, plush birds sell best.

“Big, snowy owl plush toys from Wild Republic are really popular,” Leacox said.

Every spring, they increase the variety of hats for sale because of the uptick in demand for hats in the summertime. A local embroidery screen printer worked with their scientists to create scientifically accurate color patterns for the embroidery of birds, including the Peregrine, American Kestrel and Northern Goshawk, on their hats.

Sue Roberts , a friend of The Fund, creates custom neck coolers designed to beat the heat, which also sell well come summertime. The fabric on the outside of the coolers is decorated with various birds of prey.

After three years of merchandising for The Fund, Leacox has noticed that simply moving an item to a different spot in the store will get it noticed.

“I sometimes try to do this on almost a rolling basis so that people coming in on a regular basis, like our members – and visitors coming more than just once a year – that didn’t notice something before, will notice it the next time they come,” Leacox said.

Re-locating items you are trying to clear out next to the cash register is a great strategy to get a customer to notice these items while they’re checking out, Leacox said.

Busch Wildlife Sanctuary welcome center manager Matt Parent said their best-selling category in souvenirs are their plush animals. Parent favors a less cartoonish, more realistic-looking plush animal. Their plush animals are reflective of the animals they treat and release, which means they carry native Florida animals such as armadillos, pelicans, barn owls, eagles and black bears. The plush red foxes are the best-seller in this category, followed by plush alligators.