To stay ahead in the market place, florists and gift shops must grow and energize their sales. To do this they must entice customers with new items and discover new areas of interest. Patios, decks and gardens have become areas of great interest to consumers. Although traditional flower and home accent gifts are your business, have you thought about these venues as a way to blossom and cultivate your sales? The addition of patio and garden products gives retailers another means for boosting sales. The best way to cultivate consumers’ interest is to offer a multitude of products that work in gardens and on patios, as well as in the home.
Patio and garden products are available in a multitude of genre; giving you the ability to choose items compatible with your customers’ tastes. If your customers’ tastes lean toward country or rustic, offer them products tailored to country styles; like barrel containers or farm animal motifs and feed their need for country flair. However, some customers have more urbane tastes. You’ll find that wall sculptures, modern garden art and unique outdoor pieces offer a great mix of sophisticated products. From weather vanes to wall sculptures to wind chimes, garden and patio products can fill a multitude of outdoor decor niche preferences.
What To Look For In Outdoor Decor Items
In one of their special interest publications, Better Homes and Gardens recognized bird houses as a must have home and garden item. Ranging from rustic to elaborate grandiose bird houses, wholesalers offer a multitude of pleasing options for many bird loving gardeners or gift givers. With the versatility of both indoor and outdoor use, bird houses are a natural fit to flower and gift shops product lines.
Colorful, fun and bright garden art works well for just about any patio or in any garden. Rarely can one resist purchasing a whimsical piece of yard art, such as, a brightly colored frog or even a beautiful glass butterfly on a stake. Hanging garden art is another alluring item with great potential for gift retailers. Look for art that not only can be hung off of porches or patios but, that move with the wind. Flags, windsocks or metal mobiles are great products to offer customers who need beauty with movement.
Stepping stones make perfect gifts. Do you know why? Because along with garden gnomes, statues and sun dials, stepping stones are entertaining, as well as, unique gift items for any occasion. We’ve all heard customers say “well they have everything, I just don’t know what to get them.” When gift buying ideas are hard to come by, the perfect gift is just a step away. Stepping stones are a practical, yet playful, gift choice that often can be converted to wall decor for the home. With this duality, unique stepping stones will have your customers stepping up to the cash register to make their gift purchases
As florist, you already use containers for your plants and flowers, but do you sell them? Why not? A successful retailer takes every opportunity to “up sell” their products. Take a look at the wholesale containers and planters are available in the market today; you’ll be happy you did. By carrying decorative planters and containers you can “up sell” the plants or floral arrangements that you carry or you can just sale the containers themselves. This product line gives you two ways to boost sales.
Gift shops use containers and planters as a way to increase your market share. Grab a part of the outdoor living market by carrying pots that transform the outdoors into comfortable living spaces or as a transitional items between outdoor living spaces and interior home accents.
To grow sales you have to spread the seeds of a well blended product mix. In today’s atmosphere, more people are using their patios as extensions of their homes’ living areas. It is important that you, as a retailer, recognize this trend and offer products that will appeal to consumers needs thus growing your sales. Gardens and patios have become a place where people go to re-energize from daily life. Isn’t it time to energize your product mix with garden and patio items that blossom into sales?
If this FGmarket newsletter has been helpful let us know by commenting on Grow You Sales With Patio and Garden Products. Looking for other useful information about industry issues, consumer trends or product spotlights? Check out FGmarket Buzz (a community of retailers and wholesalers).
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