Despite the challenges associated with carrying gifts, Christian retailers say the area has been a bright spot for them in recent times and contributes to the continued vitality of their stores.

Christian Retailing's Vital Signs study of this important category found two-thirds of stores reporting that their gift inventories were "steady or up" in the last couple of years, with the average number of SKUs held in inventory at around 750.

Gifts sales as a share of total revenues have remained steady or increased in 65% of stores. One in five retailers said gifts accounted for more than 40% of total sales, with many of this group also dedicating the largest amount of space set for the category.

Consumers who took part in the survey said they purchased an average of 14 gifts annually for others and an average of 10 items each year for themselves.

Retailers and consumers differed on the need for specific Bible content on gift items. Just under half (45%) of retailers said the presence of specific scripture references on products was "extremely important" when they selected inventory, and they estimated that 66% of their stock was "scriptural" in this way.

However, only 30% of participating shoppers said they preferred gifts with specific Bible verses, looking instead for items that were more generally "inspirational."

Read more in the March 9 issue of Christian Retailing.

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