How to Make a Gift Basket Local to Your Retail Store

Gift baskets are a way to highlight and sell products. They can also help retailers expand their customer base. If you’re interested in offering gift baskets, you need to consider what type of baskets you want to sell and the components needed to make them. You also need to determine how you’ll market them and who your target audience is. Once you have a plan, your gift basket business can grow and thrive.

Dana Sonia, owner of New Hampshire-based online retail business Gift Baskets by Your Design, recommends retailers start out with three designs at three price points to increase their chances for success. Then, she suggests retailers start marketing to individuals and corporations in their local area. August, who assembles custom corporate gifts in addition to her retail store’s pre-made offerings, says she begins by identifying the companies located near her shop and then calling or sending a postcard to their human resources or public relations departments.

Another key to successful gift baskets is choosing the right container. Sonia has worked with baskets, vases and trays, but she has also used a bowl, a collander, pot or skillet, a cleaning bucket and a toy wagon for kids’ gift baskets. She suggests that retailers think outside the box when selecting containers and consider themes for their baskets. For example, a large glass jar with a lid makes a great container for a gift of gourmet pickles.

When pricing baskets, take into consideration the amount of time it takes to assemble them and the cost of the items you’ll be using. Sonia estimates she spends about 50 to 60 minutes assembling a basket. She says she’ll often include a note explaining to her customers that her baskets are hand-selected and assembled by her employees, which can add to the perceived value of the item.

Frazier says it’s important to market baskets in a variety of ways, including in-store displays and social media. She also recommends retailers contact their local newspaper’s food and gift sections to see if they can get an article on her company.

Assembling and selling gift baskets can be a good up-selling tool for retailers, particularly during the holidays when they can be sold in addition to items customers buy regularly, says Sonia. But the extra effort required to assemble and sell gift baskets can put a strain on small-scale businesses. It’s crucial that retailers know their margins and be sure to factor in labor costs when deciding on prices.

The good news is that if retailers take the time to select the best products and create appealing arrangements, they can increase sales significantly during holiday seasons and for corporate gifts, say business owners. It’s also important to keep in mind that a lot of retailers sell gift baskets from their websites, so if you can compete on price and service, you should be able to attract online shoppers, too.