Getaway Gifts
Take your shoppers on a world tour right in your store.
By Bessie Nestoras, Caroline Kennedy and Meredith Schwartz -- Gifts & Decorative Accessories, 6/1/2008
With rising airfares and gas prices going through the roof, chances are many Americans will be staying closer to home this summer. But with some creative merchandising savvy, your customers can at least feel as if they've gone away on vacation — or returned to a favorite vacation spot.
This summer, create a virtual souvenir shop in your store with products evoking images and symbols of far-away places and other lands. You can take your customers to Europe, the Caribbean, around the States and beyond. The product selection is endless: images of the Eiffel Tower, a particularly popular motif, are found on pajamas, plates and napkins; scents from tropical islands are interpreted in candles and lotions that can suggest a sense of palm trees and sea breezes; a sculptured recreation of the Taj Mahal can be displayed on a book shelf.
And merchandising these products can be just as creative and varied as the products themselves. Hosting a themed event, for example, is one way to entice customers into your store. Think romantic evening in Paris or afternoon in the balmy Bahamas. Themed window displays with appropriate props such as beach umbrellas or lounge chairs, suitcases or old fashioned steamer trunks covered with travel stickers from many destinations are also inviting. Or team up with a local eatery to offer themed food and drinks. Retailers might also want to consider hiring a chef to demonstrate specific cuisine — Italian, French or Chinese, for example — and offer the products used, such as gourmet olive oil, for sale.
Staff can join in the vacation-du-jour event by wearing appropriate costumes. Encourage customers to do the same by offering a chance to win a special door prize. And don't forget music to set the mood — be it Caribbean steel drums, Hawaiian ukulele. Indian sitar or Scottish bagpipes!
To get the word out, send your customers an invitation that looks like an airline ticket. Or better yet, send an e-ticket to keep things eco-friendly. And after the party, send those who didn't make it a “wish you were here” postcard and a last-chance sale offer. Get creative and have fun.
After all, it is summer vacation. Don't you want your store to be their destination?
