Pharmacies and Florist

even carry items from local artisans including merchandise from Seven Soaps for Seven Sons.

All products and displays change seasonally – currently, autumn and Halloween themes dominate. The gift section’s top Christmas displays feature holiday trees with gifts under them, she said. “We really create a kind of Christmas wonderland shop in here. We create a whole specific holiday section in the gift department, with various gifts around the trees.” But the bottom line, Santos said is that “The best Christmas displays make it very shoppable for everyone,” with gifts that are easy to find and appealing to see.

At Ostroms Drug Store in Kenmore, Wash., gift store Manager B.Z. Davis related that her Christmastime sales are robust and include a variety of merchandise such as “clothing items, jewelry, bath products, plush, and decorative items – what sells best in that last area is anything lit that has movement.” The family-owned store has a very eclectic selection including jewelry from Boma, such as artisan-made sterling silver earrings; as well as DaVinci collectible beads. They offer chocolates from Fran’s of Seattle, thrown ceramic mugs, and purses and bags such as Baggallini brand along with a wide selection of seasonal greeting cards.

For Davis, the best gift displays involve “cross-merchandising and of course the use of holiday trees. The trees are a part of a good holiday displays.” She related that “One of my favorite things that we do here is have our staff write small personal notes about the items that they really personally like around the holidays.” She pointed out that the notes are all “handwritten, almost like little love notes, and we post them by each item. The notes speak to what our staff members really like about a given item, which makes it special.” Davis added that “We have an amazing sell-through when we post those notes. People really take the time to read them. We do that all year ‘round, not just seasonally, but they are really especially helpful at Christmas time when people can use the notes to make buying easier when it comes to finding gifts for so many others.”

Turning back to the floral and gift category, Mark Ballis , owner of Basket Butler in Tucson, Ariz., said his top gift categories are “everything from food items to holiday decorations for Christmas or Hannukah. We pretty much always include a dishware item, such as a cup and saucer or cutting board and mugs. My number one best-seller is our Taste of Tucson which is tailored to local products, and I can decorate that with a holiday theme.” He can include plants or flowers as a part of a gift basket or create separate bouquets seasonally as well. The uniqueness of his business lends itself to displays on social media of his seasonal creations which also link to his webpage directly, he said.

From flower shops to pharmacies, gift items are a strong and growing category, particularly during the hectic holiday season. ❖