At a time when every category in the Christian retail market is under scrutiny to ensure that it is performing at a level that warrants the store space it occupies, many have looked to gifts as their saving grace.

With book sales increasingly spread across various retail sectors and music sales taking a heavy hit from online purchasers, gifts have helped many Christian retailers keep their doors open by providing products with the potential for big returns from little investment, and which have not yet been cornered by mainstream retail.

But as the retail market continues to change, so too do the best practices required of Christian stores. Although there are many similarities between Bibles, books and gifts, producers, distributors and retailers also note that there are significant different demands in selling gifts.

Among the challenges: domestic/overseas sourcing, packaging, returns, margins, merchandising, product life spans.

"Not recognizing these differences can be fatal for a business," said Gary Foster, founder of Gary D. Foster Consulting, and a longtime industry adviser. "This has a lot to do with why publishers seldom produce gifts, and gift companies rarely publish books. However, retailers don't have the luxury of neglecting either. They need to offer both to their customers."

Retailers and suppliers discuss best practice issues for gifts in the latest article in Christian Retailing's "Essential Guide," in the June 8 issue of the magazine.

• Prev
• Next