Making the Most of Gift Baskets

Find ways to cut costs and encourage additional gift basket purchases to increase profits

Making the most of gift baskets in your inventory not only means cutting the cost of producing them, but also increasing profits with an expanded selection and sales of related items. Whether you cater to customers looking for corporate gift baskets for clients and employees or those in need of gifts for special occasions, uncover new methods to boost sales and expand your clientele.

Every step of the sales process, from finding wholesale sources for your gift basket business to brainstorming add-on items to generate additional sales, can be improved upon to increase your business’ success. When deciding how you should go about making the most of gift baskets, endeavor to:

1. Uncover new wholesale sources to cost-effectively increase your selection of corporate gift basket or gourmet gift basket contents.

2. Sign up for classes and workshops that will hone your skills when compiling, wrapping and merchandising everything from food gift baskets to holiday gift baskets to custom gift baskets.

3. Find additional items like gift tags and sentimental greeting cards that your gift basket company can sell. Customers will appreciate the one-stop shopping as they purchase the items to personalize the gifts.

 

Use wholesalers to add new items to your gift basket inventory without overextending your budget

If you've been specializing in a single type of executive gift basket, for example, consider expanding your line to offer products like coffee gift basket or wine gift basket choices that will also appeal to non-corporate customers. By finding wholesale sources for the new merchandise, you can attempt to expand your customer base without risking too much capital.
Try: Add new items to food and gourmet gift baskets after searching the online catalog at Imperial Foods. Items range from candy and coffee to beverages and condiments. The site also sells wholesale basket supplies like cellophane, boxes and ribbon. If you already offer plenty of food items, consider expanding your selection of personal employee gift basket items with the product offerings at Cottage Soap.

Discover ways to make your gift basket selection more appealing through instructional workshops

Experienced gift basket retailers, designers and learning institutions offer classes on the creation, design and marketing of gift baskets. The classes will keep you up to date on the latest styles, trends and colors. You can also use the new techniques as part of in-store classes to teach your customers how to design custom gift baskets for any occasion themselves.
Try: In addition to offering helpful news stories to keep you on top of industry trends, Gift Basket Business World offers classes to help you increase your creativity. The company also offers instructional videos on topics like basic design and business tips. The Virtual Learning Center has scheduled business courses to help you improve design and marketing skills. The online courses allow you to learn at your own convenience.

Offer additional products to help corporate and individual customers personalize gift baskets

Although your customers are ordering a business gift basket for an employee or a special occasion basket as a personal gift, who says the sale has to stop there? Add to the total by offering items like cards, tags or even specialty ribbon that clients can use to give each basket a heartfelt, homemade touch and help you make more from each gift basket sale.
Try: Offer a selection of beautiful handmade cards for any occasion by ordering cards through wholesaler JK Designs. If your customers prefer more traditional cards with seasonal, humorous or religious sentiments, consider ordering designs from Goldline Greetings. Get beautiful metal gift tags in a variety of styles through Nunn Design. Click on the “to buy” link to request a wholesale account and pricing.

 

• If you attend gift basket workshops or related events, take the opportunity to network with other retailers. Not only can you discuss the ways that they increase their gift basket sales, but you can also uncover new wholesale sources, hear company rumors and learn which distributors have a less-than-perfect customer service track record.

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