Quick & Dirty Results: Gift Wrap
One of the more popular Quick & Dirty Survey questions was about gift wrap. The two-part question asked:
- Do you offer gift wrap?
- If yes, do you charge for it?
94% of respondents said that, YES, their bookstore does offer gift wrap. Of those who answered YES, 98% said they offer the gift wrap for free.
A few stores staff the gift wrap counter with volunteers with a tip jar. One store charges $1 (with tax) for in-store purchases. They even offer a gift wrap services for gifts purchased beyond the store, and pricing begins at $3.
Several stores mentioned that they offer gift wrap for sale if the free wrap isn’t acceptable.
A few stores also mentioned that they only offer gift wrap over the holidays. In fact, one respondent said that kids apply to be Christmas wrappers as early as July.
And speaking of July, this is a great time to think about holiday gift wrap. Some questions to consider include:
- Do you change your gift wrap theme or “look” each year? Audition some paper/ribbons now.
- Do you know how many gifts you wrapped? If your POS system allows for a $0 item, it’s not a bad idea to keep track of the number of gifts you wrap. This will help you plan for future wrapping needs.
- Do you run out of gift wrap supplies during the holiday season? Take an inventory of your gift wrap supplies now, or at the very latest on October 1. Then you can see how quickly you burn through your supplies and plan for next year accordingly.
- Do you offer a selection of paper? Have samples readily available so customers can choose quickly.
Don’t forget about ribbon, scissors, tape, post-its, and store stickers/labels.
