7 Free Fixes for Your Bookstore's Gift Section

You don't need me to tell you gift matters. You already know it helps carry the margin books can't. So let's  get into how to make the gift you already have work harder, mostly without spending a dime.

Quick intro: I'm Theresa. I bought gift for my own shops in Tucson and Phoenix for five years and worked with 350+ independent vendors along the way. Now I'm on a mission to help indie bookstores with their gift buying!

The pattern I see most

The most common problem isn't bad product. It's random product. A one-off candle here, a single mug there, and no through-line tying any of it together. There's no variety within a category, let alone variants like colors or scents.

And it all gets set down wherever there was room: a dark back corner, or piled up by the register.

(The exception is branded merch. If it's your shop's own tote and mug, the story is you!)

The good news? Almost every fix for this is free.

1. Pick fewer categories and go deep

The mistake almost every first-time gift buyer makes is trying to do a bunch of categories at once. If there's not enough depth in a category, you're not going to become known for it. People need things to compare. They need options. If you have one candle, one mug and one snack item, unless they're telling a story together, customers aren't going to connect with it.

The fix: Start with three categories. The right three depend on your niche and your neighborhood, but three is a good start. Give each one real depth: several options, plus variants of what sells, so customers can choose by preference. Give a category at least six months before you judge it, and rotate SKUs within it as you learn.

2. Give your gift section a through-line

When I walk into a gift section, I'm looking for story. At each display, do I understand what ties all these items together? Is there a red thread running through everything?

The fix: Try finishing this sentence: "Our gift section is for people who…" Then buy toward that answer.

Your dedicated space doesn't have to say GIFT, either. It can be a seasonal theme, an analog activity table or a bookish accessories section. And think aesthetic over literal: instead of socks with books printed on them, maybe it's really cozy socks for reading in the window seat.

3. Buy for your customers, not just yourself

At our very first holiday pop-up, I brought in a lot of things I really loved, including some more modern art prints. People just didn't want them, point blank. They wanted cactus. I had to start listening to the data and to what people were asking for, while still bringing in things I thought were cool, in smart ways.

The fix: Pull a 90-day sales report once a month and keep a simple log at the register of what people ask for that you don't carry. If you don't have the numbers yet, talk to people. Your customers and coworkers will tell you what to order!

4. Get gift out of the dark corner

If customers have to hunt for gift, most won't.

The fix: Put one gift moment in the first 10 feet of the store, near new releases or worked into a front table. Every book can have a card. And if the back corner really is where gift lives, make it a destination: clear signs pointing people there, better lighting, product pulled forward. Make it just as vibey as the kids section, but for adults.

5. Treat the register like prime real estate

The register isn't a catch-all. It's a whole space that needs to be maximized. For all humans, there's impulse and there's need, and you can make it an easy yes.

The fix: Edit it down to a few intentional items with a small footprint, an easy-yes price point and something relevant to the season or useful. Rotate it with your seasons so regulars notice something new.

6. Give your cards some personality

People gravitate to cards, and a spinner by the register is a smart choice. But a spinner of generic cards is a missed opportunity.

The fix: Bring in cards that make people laugh, or that they want to show their friends, and that speak to your store's personality.

Cover your occasions: around 24 designs gives you a few options each for birthday, friendship and love, sympathy, general, holiday and congrats. Let people know which are blank inside so they don't have to open the packaging, and rotate out anything sun-faded or bent.

7. Try everything before you mark it down

Before you discount a slow mover, work through this list:

• Move it forward, or closer to eye level.
• Give it a sign. Do people know what it is, where it's from and what's special about it? Staff can't be everywhere, and signs answer questions before anyone asks.
• Tell your staff about it so they talk it up.
• Put it near a good pairing, or work it into a theme.
• Bundle it, or use it at an event.

And dust it!

Start with one

You don't have to do all seven this week. Maybe pick the one that made you wince a little and start there :)