Help your business get the most out of gifting this Christmas

Use the opportunity to sell surplus or slow-moving stock

A busy holiday season provides a convenient opportunity to sell surplus and slow-moving stock. You can sell these products without taking a hit to your margin by bundling them together in a gift hamper. This is a very effective way to add value to your products.

You can use bundling as a technique to sell more of a certain product. Try grouping a product that isn't selling into a hamper with complementary products that customers love.

You can also use these items to bulk out a hamper. Having a generous amount of products in a hamper makes it look more appealing. There is no need for all the items to be your top sellers. The mix can include magpie products to capture the customer's attention and complementary products that add perceived value. It's also worthwhile including a variety of different-sized items in your hamper.

Don't worry if you have a few hampers left over after Christmas, there are always January sales to sell them. Post-Christmas, you can replace any Christmas products in the hampers with non-seasonal items and continue to sell them. What's the saying? A hamper's not just for Christmas... or something like that!

Offer a range of hampers priced at low, mid & high

By offering budget-friendly, mid-range and luxury gift hampers, you will widen your customer base. Having a greater choice means you won't alienate customers looking to spend less. What's more, customers will be more inclined to purchase options across your range. They might opt for a lower-priced gift for a friend or colleague and a higher-priced gift for a close relative. This means more opportunities to sell.

With a huge range of hamper and gift packaging options in various materials and sizes, we can help you to create those good, better, and best seasonal gift hampers.

Bamboo trays are among our most affordable low-cost gift packaging options. Woven from sustainable bamboo, they're also an on-trend, eco-friendly gift packaging option. They're extremely lightweight yet durable, so are great for keeping your shipping costs down if you have an online store. Besides our standard bamboo trays in small, medium, and large, we also offer bamboo packing trays with a festive red and white border.

Our cardboard gift trays and gift boxes are a good mid-price option. Forget flimsy flat-pack, our pre-assembled cardboard gift packaging uses rigid card for a premium look and feel. When time is of the essence, having your gift boxes and trays made up and ready to use straight out the box is a real blessing. Plus the entire range is made from recycled materials and is easy to recycle after use; what's not to love?

Also made from card are our new photo-realistic MocBox hampers. Offering an affordable but attractive alternative, they provide an entry-level alternative to real wicker.

Of course, nothing beats the real thing. You can create luxurious gift hampers, truly worth the splurge by choosing from our range of classic wicker hamper baskets. Available in 10-inch up to 26-inch wicker trunks, there is a size to suit every gift. Use smaller baskets for dainty gifts such as cosmetics and sweets, or fill a larger size with an entire festive feast. And don't forget the value a wicker hamper adds to the gift as a whole. A hamper is always prized long after the contents have been used up. Whether it comes out for family picnics or is used for home storage, it's very much a part of the gift.

Get your preparation right and keep stock topped up

No one can predict customer spending this Christmas. Be sure to have enough stock to make the most of sales opportunities this season and don't be afraid to place last-minute top-up orders as you need them. Customers might leave buying late, but with no minimum order and super fast delivery, we are here to help you meet demand. We will be despatching orders for pre-Christmas delivery until December 20th. For further information, see our guide Ordering with Gadsby Christmas 2023.

It's worth keeping in mind that beyond Christmas, there are many hamper gifting opportunities throughout the retail calendar. Any gift packaging you don't use over the Christmas period can be used in the new year. Keeping up with demand is better than missing out on sales if you don't have enough stock.

Ensuring you have the right amount of shredded paper to fill your hampers is also worth considering. This is especially true if you're new to selling hampers or if your volumes have changed from last year. Our online shred calculator can help you estimate how much shred you'll need when packing your hampers so you don't run out. Add your gift packaging to your shopping basket, and we'll let you know how many bales to order.

Offer a create-your-own hamper service

Let's be honest, there are only a few of us that enjoy wrapping Christmas presents. The rest of us dislike it because either it takes too long, we can never find the end of the tape, or we particularly hate awkward shapes and sizes.

It couldn't be easier to offer a 'create-your-own' gift hamper or gift-wrapping service in-store over the Christmas period. It's a fantastic option for customers who want to add a personal touch to their gift but dislike wrapping. To cross-sell the contents of a shopping basket, you'll need some essential hamper supplies. Several gift packaging options will be necessary to cover a range of price points, as well as shredded paper for packing. Clear wrap and hamper bows are optional extras, but be sure to make the presentation extra special.

To inspire customers, show them examples of eye-catching gift hampers before they make their selection. Fill a wicker hamper basket with luxury crinkle-cut shredded paper, then arrange a selection of gifts, with larger items at the back and smaller ones at the front. Don't forget to embellish them with a ribbon or bow to make them look even more appealing. Create-your-own can be an enjoyable in-store experience for shoppers, allowing your team to engage with customers and deliver memorable customer service.