Posted at 2:30PM • 11/27/18 • Liz Sagaser
Kerusso® knows from experience: curated Gift Guides are a powerful tool that can drive holiday sales, increase average order value, and keep your business top of mind throughout the season.
It’s not too late to promote a gift guide that brings old and new customers through the door, and inspires them to add to their shopping carts.
6 Tips for Creating Gift Guides
that Engage Customers and Increase Sales
1. Think Strategically. Use past or current sales data to determine which product categories are most attractive to your customers. Showcase a list of Top Sellers or Our Best Gifts, based on specific items that move well in your store.
2. Appeal to Broad Shopper Segments. Him. Her. Teens. Kids. You can quickly and easily curate a list of attractive gifts based on general categories like gender or age.
3. Categories Matter.Your gift guide should spark customers’ imaginations. Lifestyle, market trends, and shopper personas all come into play when it comes to creating a noteworthy gift guide. A personality-based gift guide might include categories such as: The Techie, The Outdoorsman, The Traveler, The Happy Homemaker, The Foodie, The Fashionista, The Health Nut, The Bookworm, The DIY-er.
4. Bundle Products. Building bigger sales is one benefit of gift guides, and you can help the effort along by bundling. Pair T-shirts with necklaces or ball caps, keychains with auto coasters, pajamas with slippers, a fancy set of pens with a journal. Up the ante with special pricing on package deals.
5. Make it a Team Effort. A memorable gift guide is part science, part art — and you’ll have a better shot at brilliance if you gather ideas from the whole team for categories that will sell well in your store, as well as which merch to feature in each category. Talk to your staff, talk to your favorite customers about their holiday shopping needs, and talk to your suppliers for ideas to maximize your gift guide.
6. Promote on All Channels.Display snazzy signage in store, train associates on selling your gift guide opportunity, take photos for social platforms and email, and even consider filming a casual review of your best gift options to share on Facebook, or wherever you connect with fans. Make it fun! Offer an insider’s discount or gift-with-purchase for viewers who mention a secret code from the video. Rope staffers into the project — do several Facebook Live spots covering different gift guide categories.
