Summer 2024 - 19

COVER STORY
On this page and opposite, Kandice Matsler welcomed the season and shoppers to her decked-out Barque Gifts in Lubbock, Texas, with
a Jingle Ladies Shopping Night, complete with holiday cocktails and charcuterie cups. Meanwhile, smart and easy grab-and-go gifts
made the POS process a snap for all. All photographs courtesy of Barque Gifts.
5. Equal Opportunity Events. " Since we usually have an
influx of male shoppers right before Christmas, we thought
it might be fun to create an event just for them, " Matsler
added. " The idea is to 'Help a Guy Out for the Holidays' with
a Guys Shopping Night. We'll have snacks and drinks plus
complimentary giftwrapping and personalization on some
of our best gift products. We will let our regular shoppers
(mostly women) fill out a wish list for what they want in the
store, asking them to provide the name and address of a
guy that might need some 'help' shopping, and they will be
invited to the event. "
6. Siren Song. Urbanic put a spin on its annual Make & Mingle
holiday event by bringing in a local elementary school choir
to sing carols. " This was a first and not only magical for all
of us, but also an unexpected win ... as all of these children
came with their whole families! " Woollen laughed. " This led
to more attendance and more sales! What was meant to be a
party feature actually ended up becoming a sales magnet and
brought in new customers. "
7. Sales Grab. After experiencing success in 2023, Matsler plans
on expanding her ready-to-go gifts. Each is already bundled
and wrapped in cellophane with a bow, ready to give. " We
usually sprinkle these pre-wrapped gift 'ideas' around the
store for inspiration - like bath salts with a loofah, or honey
hand soap and lotion with a towel, or a mug with a box of
tea ... but last year we couldn't keep any that we made in
stock! This year, we're already planning which sets we will
make so we can order more of those specific items and have
them wrapped and ready from the get-go. Grab-and-go gifts
are great because they make it easy on the customer and
faster for us at checkout too. "
8. Going Private (Label). Throughout 2023, Woollen began
slowly rolling out wares for Urbanic's signature brand in
small amounts, finishing off the year with a branded holiday
range. " Customers responded really well, so the plan for 2024
is to wholesale our line of products to like-minded boutiques
and stores across the country! "
9. Gift With Purchase. Everyone loves a freebie ... even when
a purchase is required to obtain it, Cantrell observed. " We
noticed that when we offered a free tote at $50, people loved
that and always wanted one. We need to figure out what our
incentive is this year! "
10. Getting Personal. " A lot of our marketing success this last year
had to do with our first-person approach, " Woollen recalled.
" I wrote a couple personal letters which were sent out to our
newsletter list, and those were really well received. A few
of our other emails highlighted staff picks, nostalgia and
traditions. Our engagement went up. I think people identify
and respond to personal elements and the group of people
behind a small business, so going forward we will definitely
continue on with this. "
11. Close the Display Window. Sim will be taking a more narrow
approach to winter holiday-themed merchandise this year. " I
think we went a little too hard with very specifically holidaythemed
goods. I feel like the perk of being a stationery store
is being able to stock wonderful paper goods that are not just
specific to a season and can be enjoyed and loved all year long. "
STATIONERYTRENDS.COM
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http://www.STATIONERYTRENDS.COM

Summer 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Summer 2024