A number of retailers have commented on the GIFT SHOP Forum that they are a bit concerned about their sales this holiday season. While the focus of the average holiday shopper this year may be value and price, the average household is still slated to spend $525 this holiday.

Here are five strategies to ensure you get your piece of the pie:

1. Sell unique, quality products: Customers will be on the lookout for wonderful holiday gifts that can't be found elsewhere. Also, if you're their only source for the product, you're guaranteed to make the sale.

2. Personalization: Consumers love to give products that are personalized—it gives them a way to gift an item that is truly unique and recipients love it. There are so many product options available, and with many of them you only need to carry one sample in your store (helps you control inventory expenditures). To learn more about the benefits of selling personalized products, and for a vendor resource list, check out the GIFT SHOP article Personal Profits.

3. Customization: Offering pre-made gift baskets, or a program to help your clients create their own gift baskets, is a fantastic way to allow customers to customize the perfect gift.

4. Customer service: Promote your exceptional customer service. For example, create a sign if you offer complimentary gift wrap during the holiday season, an extended return policy, a customer wish list program or other services that make shopping your store a pleasure.

5. Price: Offer a range of great products with price points under $30. Shoppers will be seeking a good value and price.

Today I received an email from a hospital gift manager asking for a few suggestions on how she could improve her visual merchandising display. One of her biggest challenges is that the hospital never created a large enough space for the store, so she's operating in a very small area. After reviewing her store photos, I have come up with eight ideas (in no particular order) that are relatively low cost, to create maximum impact. (see photos below)

1. Add color: Paint the back wall a rich, warm neutral color, such as a darker taupe. This would really help the merchandise pop and warm up the space, making it seem less like a hospital environment and more like a permanent store.

2. Addition of store signage: The hospital manager mentioned that customers often walk right by her store—they even don't notice it's there. I'd love to see the screen come down and various smaller hanging signs moved further back so a professional sign could be installed behind the cash register area. Also, while we're on the subject of store signage, I always recommend that a paper sign never be used. If you're going to make your own on a computer, I'd suggest finishing it off by framing it. Inexpensive frames can be found at your local craft store.

3. De-clutter: Since this retailer is operating in such a small space, it's absolutely critical that she create some white space (also know as resting space for the eye). She doesn't actually need to subtract merchandise from the floor to make this happen, she just needs to consolidate some of the merchandise into a tighter area. Also, I'd recommend removing all merchandise from the floor. This will help make the store appear a little larger.

4. Utilize more vertical space: This retailer is taking advantage of the horizontal display space but there is very little vertical space utilized (with the exception of the signs). I'd suggest purchasing some inexpensive acrylic risers from a fixture company to give the products different heights.

5. Create a focal point: Currently, the focal point of the store is the candy. While I'm sure candy sales make up a large percentage of store sales, I'd like to see the area to the right of the cash/wrap area be the focal point of the store. A cute themed display could be created here or you might want to consider installing wider shelving. In a more extensive re-model, I would consider removing all the built-in shelving to opt for bigger and deeper bookshelves. This would also give you options to move the store around to create a new look.

6. Add an area for impulse items on the cash/wrap table: Currently the only items I see for sale on the cash wrap are candy bars. I might opt to replace the candy (move it below) with the bracelets I see in the jewelry area, or the wooden roses—a great impulse item.

7. Product selection: While it looks like you carry a lot of charming gifts, it seems to me that you might be missing out on some sales of merchandise that visitors might buy for friends who are in the hospital, such as bath and body products, really plush robes, slippers, cards, etc. One more suggestion in terms of products is that sometimes you can create a more stunning display with more merchandise. If money were no object, I'd suggest adding more plush to the store—it could be a really cute display.

8. Displays that pop: The merchandise itself is grouped into similar categories, but there are no really strong displays within each category. Here a few ways to create a strong display: a) enough merchandise to make it look interesting, b) products displayed at different heights, c) interesting props or display pieces if the merchandise itself cannot be stacked to create height or d) repeat patterns of colors which can come from the merchandise itself or from props.

Does anyone else have any other ideas or suggestions?

One of the biggest challenges facing retailers this holiday season is how to drive more customers to your store and get them to buy your products. Considering the economy, now is the time. It's absolutely critical to reach your customers via email blasts at least once a month. Why? If done right it can lead to increased traffic and purchasing in your store AND your competition is already doing it.

It may seem daunting if you haven't started collecting names, or attempts to collect names in the past were met with little or no success, but one of the biggest successes in the retail industry is Bath & Body Works who was able to collect 10 million names in a shocking three months. How did they do it? They offered customers the chance to receive a free tube of lip gloss for sharing their email address, with the catch being you had to go home and print out the coupon and bring it back. Not only were they able to confirm the email address was valid, but it also gave customers a reason to come back to the store, where, on average, they spent another $25.

Here are six suggestions for email blast content for the holidays:

1. Promote a special offer—even if you discount just one product line by 20%-30%, you'll be giving your customers a valuable reason to come into the store.

2. Talk about new product arrivals—one of the main reasons that customers shop your store is because of the unique mix of products. Feature items that aren't easily found elsewhere.

3. Market a store promotion—let your customers know about fun events you're hosting this holiday season (or start now and promote your fall events).

4. Store classes—invite your customers in for a lesson on trimming the tree or holiday decorating.

5. Content—Deliver valuable ideas, recipes or information. For example, if you sell Polish pottery, include a recipe for a casserole, then make the dish and show an image of it in your email blast.

6. Contests—Hold a contest, like "best decorated tree" or "house for the holidays" (to be judged by your staff). The winner could receive a $100 gift certificate to your store, or a selection of ornaments.

There are many companies who can help you design and send your email blast. Check out this list of email marketing companies from our web editor and get started!

I just read about an interesting research study which found that value-oriented customers perceive some products to have more value when presented with prices that end in the number "9" vs. those with "0" price endings. But a while back I did a blog post about a research study that found that perceived value could be increased when numbers that end in "9" weren't used. So as a retailer, what are you to do, especially if you're trying to position your store as a mid- to high-end shop?

During healthier economic times, I'd suggest sticking with prices that end with "0." However, in light of the fact that everyone seems to be looking for a bargain nowadays you might consider doing some price testing this fall and holiday season, particularly with smaller impulse items.

I was interviewed today by an editor for a magazine that is geared to dance studio retailers and she asked me what advice I would give her retailers for this holiday season. My immediate response was, "more important than ever before, don't take a wait-and-see approach—be proactive."

Then I suggested that retailers focus on four core areas:

1. Marketing: Take advantage of low-cost email marketing to promote in-store specials (or a frequent buyer program) and to give reasons why your customers should stop by your store.

2. Superb staffing: Don't settle for mediocre employees. Determine who your top performers are by looking at your store's daily sales figures. Keep only the employees who fall in the top 25% and establish a reward for your sales team for hitting sales goals. Perhaps a special in-store party, or a $50 gift certificate for everyone if the goal is achieved.

3. Improve visual merchandising: Visual merchandising can impact sales by as much as 40%, so make sure you have really strong store windows. They're a fantastic focal point when you walk in the store, and a new holiday look can inspire walk-ins.

4. Product selection: One of the top reasons that consumers shop at a gift store is to find unique products. Make sure your holiday inventory includes fun new products that can't be found elsewhere, and think about promoting some of these in your marketing.

Stay tuned for more tips on preparing for the holiday season.

Our visual merchandiser and I just got back from a two-day makeover of a camera store in New England. The owner had really great front window space, but wasn't fully optimizing it. Here are five tips to consider when building an effective window display for your store:

Determine a theme… Let the theme of the window guide your merchandising decisions. You might base your theme on the upcoming season or new merchandise you want to spotlight—and be sure to consider which products and/or themes will make the most impact. This can be a fun and creative process. Think about involving your staff in a brainstorming session and consider rewarding the best idea with a store gift certificate. Or, hold an annual contest, and reward the employee who creates the best window of the year. You can even ask your customers to judge at the end of the year which one they liked.

Add Props… You can really add a lot of interest with creative props that tie into your window theme. In one of the store windows we just re-merchandised, we added back-to-school supplies: a desk, backpack, apple, notebooks, etc. In the other window (theme: travel/safari), we added a camera vest, trunks, maps and travel tripods. Your merchandise can serve a dual function as a prop.

Use the space you have… One of the key mistakes the retailer was making in his window was a failure to utilize vertical space. As you consider the window design, think about building height through a neat fixture, elements hung from the ceiling or larger pieces of furniture.

Have a key focal point… Create a key focal point for your design. Your display will be much more effective if a shopper's eye is drawn to one area rather than 10 different things. In the travel window, the human form and trunks were the focal point; in the back-to-school window, the desk does the job.

Optimize the curb appeal… The final test of an effective window display is to ensure that your window commands attention when seen from the outside. Remember: you only have five seconds to grab the attention of passing potential customer—make sure your window captures their attention!

If you've been reading this blog over the past year, you probably know by now how strongly I believe in a vibrant web presence. I'm excited to announce that our webmaster, Allisyn Deyo, has been hard at work redesigning our company websites, and the first one finished is GIFTSHOPMag.com. I hope you'll check it out—especially the online exclusive content—and let us know what you think. We love feedback!

Here are five tips for you if you're thinking of redesigning your site:

Let your end goal of more sales drive your redesign. After all, the goal of redesigning your website is not just to have it look pretty and be easier for people to use. You want it to drive more traffic, increase the average time people spend on it and give them a reason to come back. As you consider the elements to change think about what you look for on a website. A list of related content next to something you're looking at? The most popular articles that people are currently reading? Commenting on a feature article that is important to you? Whatever it is, make sure you incorporate it. And if your current employee (or company who builds your site) can't do it, find someone who can.

Make sure you protect your assets. You don't want to lose valuable search engine rankings when you redesign, so be sure to use your stats to gauge what pages have the most incoming links and redirect them. Create a specific error page that says, "hi, we've redesigned, please use search and thank you!" and put a search box at the end of that sentence. And create a list of your main category, shopping and general site pages and institute permanent redirects. You'd be surprised how many people use links from a year ago!

Create a dynamic website that you can edit. Make sure when you redesign that you're able to make all the updates you want to the site yourself, rather than relying on a hosting company to make changes. If you're a smaller site, have the person who builds your site do it using software that you can use easily (such as Wordpress or Drupal)—again, if they can't do that, find someone who can. You might spend more than you were hoping too for the site design, but you will save lots of money in the long run making small changes yourself.

Deliver quality content. Consider adding a blog, weekly special reports, recipes or other elements that will reward customers for returning to your site.

Understand and monitor the metrics. Work with your webmaster to ensure you can get regular metrics for your site, and keep a close eye on them as you make changes.

When I'm traveling, I always make a point of visiting local retailers, not only to observe new retail concepts, but also to see different merchandising ideas and products (and to shop, of course!). On the the island of Oahu, Waikiki Beach is known for its shopping—in addition to the fabulous beaches. The shops are open an average of fourteen hours a day (imagine how much the retailers spend for staffing!), but it's well worth it because tourists spend at least $10 billion shopping every year in Hawaii.

There is a little shopping area called the International Marketplace that I enjoyed visiting. The interesting thing about the cart program is that of the 40 or so vendors, about 30 of them sell the exact same thing! It proves that with the right location, right products and right staffing you can still be successful, regardless of competition.

I just found out about a clever green marketing strategy that Saks Fifth Avenue has adopted. They've made an enticing offer to their customers—bring in your used bottle of perfume (regardless of brand), purchase a new bottle of perfume and they'll give you a refillable pocket spray free. In addition, all Bond No. 9 brand bottles will be sanitized, refurbished, refilled and decorated to indicate they've been reused, and all other bottles will be inspected, sorted and sent to the appropriate facilities for glass, plastic and metal recycling. No materials are sent to a landfill.

How does this relate to you as a gift shop or cart owner? Perhaps you too can offer some kind of reward to your customers for recycling, perhaps bags from your store, product packaging, cards or gift wrap. Not only is it a great thing to do for the environment, but it also gives your customers a reason to come back to your store—for a fun discount toward the purchase of another product.

Check out more ideas for greening your store in the premiere issue of GREEN Retailer today.

Three months ago, I blogged about the exciting news that we're launching a new magazine, GREEN Retailer, focused on providing eco-friendly resources for the gift and home furnishings industry.

Since announcing the launch, we've received hundreds of inquiries from retailers and wholesalers across the country, so I'm excited to say our premiere issue is debuting at the Atlanta (AmericasMart) Gift Show this week and the digital issue has been posted for free on our website.

Our first edition is loaded with green product resources, an in-depth feature on organic bath and body, and articles on how to 'green your store.'

Recently on our GIFT SHOP Forum there was an interesting debate about whether the green trend is a fleeting fad or here to stay. I feel confident that it's long-term and that it's only just beginning to gain momentum. If it's not here to stay, our planet will be in serious peril. We must start consuming more sustainable and recycled resources.

I hope you'll check out the premiere issue of GREEN Retailer today to find eco-friendly products and resources for your store. It's time to start thinking green!