Buying things from a gift shop can help you remember a trip or show people you care about them while you’re away. Locals can show off their special skills and ways of life in gift shops. With your own gift shop, you could give travelers something to remember you by, grow your town, and make a lot of money at the same time. Well, that’s a gain for everyone!
The best gifts from a gift shop are usually things we use every day, like a favorite coffee mug, that remind us of an amazing trip. If you don’t know what to sell in your gift shop, check out our list of great goods and business ideas.
1. Nearby Jerky
Nearby Jerky is hand-made jerky that tastes like local foods and is easy to pack and take with you. It’s not strange that sales of jerky in US convenience shops went up to almost $960 million in 2021. If you sell jerky in your gift shop, you might be able to take advantage of this profitable market.
If you’ve never made jerky before, you might want to buy a lot of local jerky to learn how to make good jerky at home. As your shop gets more popular and you learn more, you could start making your own jerky by working with local butchers and hunters and buying a food dehydrator. Free samples in your store are a guaranteed way to make your first sale, and big orders and free shipping online will keep customers coming back long after they leave.
2. Dried Blossom Items
Dried flowers keep a sense of time and make great, long-lasting gifts. Putting whole dried flowers in glue and pressing them onto cards would let you make keychains and jewelry. During the pandemic, closed borders cut off the supply of new flowers, which made dried flower sales in the UK go up by 115%. People have kept their interest in these never-ending wonders even after they were discovered.
You could start by drying small batches of the flowers you grow and planting your own yard. Share a movie of your creation process, your garden in bloom, and your finished goods on social media to get more people interested. Once you know what flowers and things you want to sell, talk to local garden workers and botanists to find a reliable source. Autumn and winter, when there is less greenery, are probably the best times to sell your goods. If you try different ways to arrange and sell your flowers, your sales will go through the roof.
3. Magnets
Magnets for the fridge are an old-fashioned souvenir, and it’s not uncommon for a family fridge to be full of magnets from trips. After the pandemic, people are going on holidays and buying traditional gifts. This is helping the market for classic items like fridge magnets recover. Your gift shop can make a lot of money if it sticks with this growing market.
To start, you could make printed magnets with local scenes easier and call local groups to see if they might want to order a lot of magnets with their logo. Make posts on social media that are appealing and interesting to both neighbors and magnet fans.
As your business grows, you could make different kinds of wonder magnets with moving parts and magnets attached to small odd things. If there’s room, put your logo and business name on every sticker to get the word out about your business.
4. Objective Print Apparel
People who travel often like to buy shirts, jackets, and other things with the names of the places they’ve been. You could make a lot of money by making clothes like these that say the name of your town. Tourists who brought the wrong clothes would also find your shop very useful.
The US clothing market is the biggest in the world, with monthly sales of more than $15 billion, so there is a chance. You can start making your products at home with a screen printer or by teaming up with a reliable company. You could start with shirts, and then move on to other things.
You could work with a social media star to make posts that get shared a lot and create buzz to get those first customers. To get people to buy online, you should also take the time to make a good marketing strategy and a website that looks good.
5. Hats
These are another gift that is stylish and useful. You can get a big piece of the $3 billion market for hats and caps in the US in 2021 by selling them in your gift shop.
You could start your business by selling baseball caps and other hats that are good for the weather in your area. If you’re in Florida or California, for instance, you might sell sun hats and Panamas. If it’s Minnesota or New York, you could give wool blankets and ear muffs. If you have the space, you could sell hats that are good for all kinds of weather. Join Facebook amateur groups like the Fitted Hat Society to promote your store and show off your collection. As you grow your business, make sure to keep track of your rising stock and look at current trends to keep costs low and profits high.
6. Sweets
People who travel around the world often want to eat and drink their way around. Club Med, a travel service, says that chocolate, sweets, and coffee are the most popular foods in many countries, including the United States. By selling homemade treats, you can make a lot of people happy and make a lot of money.
When deciding which things to sell, it’s smart to think about how long they can actually be used. Chocolates, hard candies, and nuts that are easily broken are easy to move and store, both for yourself and for your customers. Once you’ve made a name for yourself, you could work with local candy makers to sell their goods. You could also sell freshly made goods like cookies and ice cream. Post enticing pictures of your treats on the web as a way to keep people interested.
One benefit is that selling sweets will make you famous with the locals and their kids. There is no better advertising than a bunch of happy customers.
7. Photo Booth
Taking pictures during your trip is a great way to remember it. In a survey of people who get their fun online, 43% said they posted group photos and 27% said they posted vacation photos. With your own picture corner, you could use the two groups to your advantage and help other travelers avoid the selfie stick.
When the weather is nice, you could set up your photo booth outside and use natural scenery. For indoor photoshoots, you could use a printed screen. Customers could also have a silly time if they were given special clothes and tools.
You might want to buy a new printer and picture booth. Set up social media accounts so that customers can share pictures online that promote your business.
8. Jigsaw Riddles
Studies show that 66% of Americans of all ages like puzzles. Everyone has their favorite games and hobbies, but 66% of Americans of all ages like riddles. This means you could make a lot of money selling puzzles while giving your family something fun to do.
To get started, all you have to do is take good pictures of the area to use as the pattern for your puzzle. From there, work with a company to make your puzzles. In addition to your gift shop, you could make a fun website where travelers can buy your puzzles even after they’ve gone home.
Creating online entertainment pages on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok would help you move your products forward and meet your obligations. You could even offer a discount online to customers who post a picture of a finished puzzle and tag your account.
9. Calendars
A gift calendar is a great way to remember your trip over and over again. In 2021, the market for writing things like plans was worth a stunning $6 billion. Even though digital calendars are becoming more popular with younger people, there is still a big market for calendars among older customers, companies, and hobbyists in the stationery industry.
To get things going, you might just need to find or take twelve great photos for each month of your calendar, then work with a local printer to put them all together. You could sell calendars that show local sites or plants and animals. You could start adding plans near the end of the year and then add notebooks and organizers later.
In this job, you’ll need to be careful not to have too much stock. Still, the Christmas season should be a happy time when you sell all of your calendars for the new year.
10. Stuffed Animals
Who doesn’t like to hug a soft animal? In the United States, retail sales of plush toys hit $1.25 billion in 2020, which shows that people agree. In your gift shop, selling cute and unique toy animals could help you get more customers and get the attention of tourists.
You could sell soft toys that look like the mascots of nearby colleges, local animals, or important events. You could post pictures of your stuffed animals at local sites on social media to get fans, tourists, and travel writers interested in your work. You could add more later by changing the patterns to fit different ages: One kind of toy animal for babies might be made of very soft materials, while another kind might look like a Beanie Baby to appeal to Baby Boomers who are nostalgic. Customers could buy gifts for the whole family if there was a soft toy for each age.
11. Reusable Pack
Concerns about plastic pollution are growing, so nearly twelve US states have put in place rules and fees for single-use plastic packs. More states and countries are sure to follow suit. To meet this rising demand, you can make more money and help the environment by selling gift reusable bags.
There are many different types and sizes of reusable bags, so you’ll need to decide which one works best for you first. Even though hemp and canvas tote bags are in style, tourists would find it easier to take home folded plastic bags. You could decorate and sew your own bags, or you could hire a maker to put your patterns on the bags. You can make your bags look like anything you want, like the name of the town, a famous view, a mascot from the area, or your own designs.
To start selling, you could work with local grocery stores and general stores to sell some of your packs and offer a larger selection in your gift shop. You could use social media to tell people about your bags and show how they can be used in many different ways. People will buy a lot of your reusable totes and sacks once they understand they are stylish and good for the environment.
12. Umbrellas
As the world changes, it seems like the weather is getting harsher and less predictable. People can use umbrellas to stay dry when the weather changes quickly, and they can also be useful things to keep. You could take this chance to sell trinket umbrellas and turn rainy days into money-making days.
But because tourists don’t have much room to store things, you could start by selling smaller umbrellas and then move on to bigger sizes, parasols, and umbrellas that are upside down. Even if it’s raining, a cute umbrella is sure to make customers smile as they think back on their happy trip memories.
13. Reusable water bottles
Travelers are becoming more worried about the environment, so it’s always a good idea to stay wet on vacation. This helps explain why people are using refillable water bottles more and more. By 2025, it is expected that the market for them will be worth $11 billion. By selling water bottles as souvenirs, you can keep tourists hydrated, help the environment, and make a lot of money!
You start by choosing the patterns and materials you like best. Depending on your purpose, you could use metal, glass, or pet plastic. So, it’s smart to find out about your target group and what tourists like. Then you could make the bottles yourself by working with a maker and maybe buying a cylinder printer later. You might be able to get more people interested by holding a giveaway on social media. To keep prices down, start with just one design and add more as your business grows.
When people get home, the good times they had on their trip will make their drinks taste even better.
14. License Plate Frames
A license plate frame, like a car sticker, is a small way to show the world who you are. As the chip problem gets better, car prices are likely to go down in 2023, making it possible for more people to buy new cars. You could sell license plate frames and take advantage of this busy market to help drivers protect their new plates and show off where they’ve been.
You could start by making a square frame that has the name and symbols of your town. You could then add more styles and colors to match different cars and make new patterns that capture the spirit of your town. Just work with a good maker to have your frames printed.
Just be sure that the frames you make are allowed for cars in your area. Even if the rules are strict, everything will work out so that visitors can take a piece of your town with them.