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Ten
Retail Tactics to Guarantee a Great Holiday "Gifting" Season
Stevens, PA September 3, 2003 - As retailers finalize plans for their most important
selling season (the last two months of the year typically generate from
25-40 percent of annual sales), holiday gift shopping will be even more
important as retailers work to make up for the year's weak first and
second quarters.
"Convenience is gift shoppers' top priority this year," says Pam Danziger,
president of Unity Marketing and author of Why People Buy Things
They Don't Need. "Shoppers seek special gifts that are just right
for the recipient, but what they want most is to shop stores that are
convenient and make their gift shopping experience quick and painless."
So gift shoppers this year will return to their favorite mass merchants,
such as Target, or major department stores where they get the widest
range of gift choices at the right price. From her research with highly
active gift givers, Danziger shares strategies for retailers to increase
holiday gift sales.
- Focus on enhancing the "gifting" experience, rather than on the
gift: The goal of gifting is to emotionally connect the giver
with the recipient. The gift itself is the means to an end, and that
end is an emotional connection between individuals. Gift shoppers
will reward retailers that help them enhance the gifting and gift
shopping experience.
- Know qualities shoppers want in a gift: With connecting the
goal, gift-givers seek gifts that show they know the recipient. After
finding the right item, gifters want quality and craftsmanship, uniqueness
and an item that expresses their and the receivers' individuality.
Giving the shopper a way to customize the gift and to add a special
touch just for the recipient will be rewarded.
- Convenience is key in shopping: While gifters want a special,
emotionally evocative gift, they won't trudge from store to store
to find it. In choosing a store to buy gifts, they want first and
foremost convenience, so they tend to shop where they shop for themselves
and know the layout. To maximize gift sales, retailers should compile
a list of the top gift ideas for specific relations (e.g. husband,
wife, child, coworker) and price points (e.g. $25 and under; $26-$50;
$51-$100; $100+) and post this prominently at the front counter, the
cash registers, on the window to entice shoppers in for the most convenient
gift shopping experience possible. For those with room, end cap displays
or tables stacked with gift ideas draw crowds.
- Gift certificates are key gifting strategy: Gift cards, rather
than cash, are preferred by gifters because they show the gifter cares
enough to have shopped. Too many stores make their gift certificate
or gift card program an afterthought. This misses a HUGE opportunity
to build shopper loyalty among both gift givers and gift recipients.
Increasing sales of gift certificates should be a cornerstone of a
retailer's gifting strategy, since with a gift card you touch two
shoppers, not just one. Gift cards should be appealing to give and
receive. Generic cards are hardly enticing . Cards should connect
emotionally too, displaying popular licensed themes, such as Harry
Potter, Lord of the Rings, SpongeBob, or other art that the individual
will want to give and receive.
- Gifting goes on all year long: Gift shopping doesn't take
place only in the last two months of the year. Heavy gift buyers,
in particular, are always out and about, grazing for new ideas. They
buy and stash away gifts all year long, so make gifting and gift shopping
a key retail focus throughout the year.
- Put people back into your store: While retailers are working
to remove sales help and make the shopping experience do-it-yourself,
gift shoppers value the personal touch. After all they are looking
for an emotional experience in the gift they choose and the store
they shop, and they want knowledgeable, well-trained sales help to
guide them. They also demand that the checkout process be as convenient
as possible. Since everybody else is depersonalizing shopping, retailers
that put the personal back into it will be greatly rewarded.
- Target the gifters' decision process: Gifters have a number
of critical decision points in the gift shopping process. They must
select something that the individual wants within their price range.
To help gifters find the right gift, prepare your staff with a list
of open-ended questions they will help shoppers discover the perfect
gift. Make sure sales staff know the stock and can intelligently interview
shoppers. The goal of gift retailing is to have the right item, at
the right price, for the right person on the right occasion.
- Have brands and products people want NOW, not tomorrow or yesterday:
Being on trend requires that you keep up with consumer passions and
preferences in key product categories. The Internet can be an effective
tool to follow the latest product fads and fancies. Be on the leading
edge in your product lines and get rid of last year's merchandise
if it's still hanging around, so that when the holiday rush hits,
shoppers won't see your store looking tired.
- Presentation matters: In gift giving, presentation counts.
To maximize sales of gifts, make sure you offer expert-quality gift
wrap services with a number of gift wrap options. Gift wrap can even
become a new profit center, if you think in terms of upscale luxury
gift wrap choices. And make sure your store's name is included somewhere
in the gift package, either on the box, complementary gift card or
gift receipt.
- Position your store as a brand where gifters like to shop:
Today branding your store and differentiating it as a good place to
shop for gifts is critical. Make gifting a key feature of your brand
by enhancing the shoppers' gifting experience, e.g. convenient, offering
novel gift ideas and gift presentation options. Understand that gifting
is a rare opportunity for a store to touch two consumer segments -
the buyer and the recipient. Make the most of that opportunity by
building a loyal following among both.
A new research report is available from Unity Marketing summarizing
the findings from eight hours of in-depth interviews with shoppers selected
for active gift buying and high levels of spending. Called Gifting:
The Dynamics of the Gift Giving Consumer, this concise 60+ page report
covers how shoppers feel about gift giving and receiving, attributes of
a good gift, how they set a gifting budget, how they select across different
categories of products, where they shop and why traditional specialty
gift stores don't meet their needs. Included are gifters' thoughts on
15 major gift categories, such as candles, baskets, boxes and tins, personalized
gifts, licensed merchandise, tabletop and dinnerware and collectibles
and figurines to name a few. This research is sponsored in part by the
gift industry's most forward-thinking companies, including Department
56, Glass Baron, Lenox, Longaberger, and Walt Disney, among others.
About Unity Marketing
Founded in 1992 , Unity Marketing is a market research and consulting
firm that specializes in consumer insights for luxury marketers. Using
its proprietary 'why people buy' research strategy, Pam Danziger, company
founder and author of Why People Buy Things They Don't Need
(Ithaca, NY: Paramount Market Publishing, 2002) uncovers the motivations,
desires and emotional needs that drive consumers to buy. Unity also
publishes market research studies on the luxury market, art, jewelry,
garden, home furnishings, gifts and collectibles, personal care and
cosmetics markets, as well as the Luxury Business newsletter.
Pam is currently working on her new book, Let Them Eat Cake: Marketing
Luxury to the Masses (as well as the Classes), to be published in
early 2004.
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