America is a nation with a varied palate, representing regional food preferences across the country. For instance, Southerners like their ice tea sweetened, New Englanders swear by Boston clam chowder, New Yorkers are inclined to garnish their hot dogs with sauerkraut, and Texans are convinced that their barbeque is better than anyone else's. Wondering if similar differences exist in gift preferences, we took a look at our annual Retailer Comparison Survey, "Today's Gift Retailer," to make some comparisons. (The full results of the 2003 survey are in the June and July 2004 issues of Gifts & Decorative Accessories.) Sure enough, we found a number of regional biases regarding merchandise mix, products, and price points reported by retailers who responded to the survey.

First, some similarities...

• Nationally, 13 product categories made the most-carried list. They're on the shelves of 50 percent or more of the nation's gift and decorative accessories retailers. These include candles and candle accessories, holiday products, greeting cards, jewelry, photo frames, wall art, plush products, tabletop products, ceramics/pottery, collectibles, personal care products, gift books, and glassware/crystal.
• Candles and candle accessories are the most stocked category in the giftware industry. More than four-fifths of retailers in every region carry them.
• In terms of products carried, retailers in the South mirror the national average more closely than retailers in other regions.

Now, the differences.

• Retailers in the Northeast are more likely to include ceramics/pottery, collectibles, wall art, and plush in their mix than retailers in other regions. They're less likely to carry tabletop and gift books.
• Retailers stock more lines of holiday products and gourmet foods than their counterparts in other regions.
• Of 29 product categories, retailers report nine with best-selling price points in the $20-plus range.
• Retailers have higher best-selling price points (more than $25) for home textiles than is the case for other regions.

• More than half of retailers carry desk and other home office accessories. (Nationally, only 27 percent carry them.)
• Of 29 product categories, retailers report 11 with best-selling price points in the $20-plus range.
• Permanent florals and ceramics/ pottery have higher best-selling price points in the South (more than $25) than in other regions.

Retailers in the Midwest are the most eclectic in their product assortments. Permanent florals, fashion accents, and home textiles are in the merchandise lineup of at least half of retailers. (In other regions, these products claim shelf space in fewer than half of all stores.)

• Of 29 product categories, retailers report seven with best-selling price points in the $20-plus range. (Fewer than any other region.)
• 48 percent carry glassware/crystal, the lowest percentage of retailers carrying these products in all regions.

• Retailers in the West narrow their product assortment more than in other regions. Among the products carried by more than half the retailers in other regions, fewer Western retailers include plush, photo frames, and jewelry in their mix.
• 55 percent of retailers include gourmet foods in their product assortment. In comparison, only 39 percent in the Northeast carry gourmet foods, although they carry more lines.
• Retailers that carry jewelry stock at least twice as many lines (ten lines) as retailers in other regions.
• Of 29 product categories, retailers report 15 with best-selling price points in the $20-plus range, more than any other region.
• The best-selling price points for memory products and glassware/crystal are more than $25. In the Northeast, the best-selling price point is under $10 for memory products. Glassware/crystal falls into the $21–$25 range in all the other regions.
• Retailers have higher best-selling price points for writing instruments ($50), glassware/crystal ($38), and fashion accents ($35) than retailers in all other regions of the country.