Summer 2023 - 70

PROMOTIONS
Gourmet pantry items make great gifts. Photo courtesy
of Paper Luxe.
2. Find your focus, early. For Audrey Woollen, founder
and creative director of Urbanic, Christmas '22 was
" unknown territory " as it was the first holiday season
for the shop's flagship in Los Angeles, after 17 years in
Venice. " We put everything we had into the season to
best maximize sales, and I'm so happy our hard work
paid off! " she shared. " We started mapping out our
promotional schedule in September with an angle and a
strategy behind all the marketing to be more customerand
experience-focused rather than just a sales and
product pitch. "
3. Mark your calendars - permanently. Loyal
customers love annual affairs. " Our two biggest events
of the year are our Holiday Open House, the first
Saturday in November, and Small Business Saturday
(SBS), the Saturday after Thanksgiving, " Luna detailed.
" The open house kicks off the holiday season and
creates excitement and buzz. Décor and holiday cards
are (typically) top sellers. On SBS, our community really
rallies around our local businesses and people begin
purchasing all their giftables. "
4. Order early. Pei Sim, owner and founder of The
Paper + Craft Pantry, has blocked off time to start
holiday planning and buying on her calendar in the
coming months. " [This] still feels scary as [it] will just sit
in storage for months, " she noted. " But the payoff is not
having to stress about backorders or delays come fall! "
70 SUMMER 2023 GIFT SHOP® PLUS
5. Think spooky. Grace Kang, founder and chief buyer
of Pink Olive, jump-started the holiday with Halloween
business in October. " We did a Ghoul Gang Launch
Party in our Little Rock, [Arkansas], store in time for
the 'Hocus Pocus 2' movie. In the city stores, we made
sure to be fully stocked with Halloween cards and
decorations in a bigger way. We sold out to the piece.
We'll definitely repeat it next year. "
6. Think like a shopper. For Sim, the holidays should
speak to various observances - and offer little welcoming
amenities. " Everything just feels extra magical that
time of the year, and we love being a wonderland for
our community. We are excited to add more inclusive
products for those who celebrate different holidays! An
unexpected success was doing simple things to bring
joy and delight - like complimentary giftwrapping
on weekends and a gifting concierge, where our team
assists in picking out gifts! "
7. Play with a theme. Paper Luxe kicks off December
with its 12 Days of Christmas sales, garnering excitement
and high sales, both in stores and online. " Each day
features a significant discount on a particular vendor or
product category. "
8. The fine print - and paws. Urbanic's Sweet Friday
was similar to Black Friday - " but better, " said Woollen.
" We hosted a designated mailbox and typewriter for
children to type and mail a letter to Santa inside the
shop, and we snapped countless pics of our local dog
friends with mini Santa hats on for their owners. "
9. Craft away. Another Urbanic promotion was its
" Holiday Hangout, " featuring a well-stocked crafting
bar where customers could make gift tags or a gifttopper.
" We loaded up the table full of wrapping paper
scraps and other creative supplies, and people stayed all
night crafting, socializing and shopping. "
10. Consider a cash grab. Paper Luxe's newest 2022
event was its Grab Bag Sale. " We offered three different
sized bags at $20, $25 and $30, " Luna explained. " They
could then fill them with anything in the designated area.
Customers loved the great deals and anticipation, and
we loved being able to move older products physically
out of our space and generate cash flow from products
that have been around too long! "
11. Play the host. Don't feel the need to envision every
event - look to your community, suggested Luna. " We
love to host other small businesses to generate foot
traffic. We invited famous hand-cut silhouette artist,
Karl Johnson, to create beautiful children's silhouettes
right in the store. A local macaron-maker, Girl Loves
Cake Desserts, also hosts Thanksgiving and Christmas
popups. For 2023, we're hoping to have weekly popups
Summer 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Summer 2023
