Let me second what Susan said about your selection of merchandise - it must be in line with your museum's mission to avoid unrelated business income taxes (UBIT) and you want to avoid those! That said, think creatively about what that really means. I was in a session once where the store manager of an aquarium located on a beach said that their best selling items were flip-flops! It worked for them because we are allowed to sell items for visitors convenience (water, snacks, film for cameras in the days before cell phones)
and because it was related to their mission. At my institution, because were are both an archeological and natural history preserve, we sell native wildflower seed and have turned non-native trees that we have cleared during the restoration of our prairie into firewood sold through our store.
We have learned that lighting is a key element. The original lighting built into our store was sparse and dim. Improved lighting improved interest in the store. Regularly altering your displays to highlight different items is important, even if your basic inventory remains the same. From your photograph, it appears that you sell a lot of books (most of us do). Those displayed facing the shoppers will almost always sell better than those displayed library style with only their spines showing. As Susan suggested, do not neglect a variety of lower priced items. During the recession that began in 2009, those items kept our museum store in the black. Best of luck with your retail adventure!
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Deborah Bigness
Manager of Site Operations, Lubbock Lake National Historic Landmark
Museum of Texas Tech University
Lubbock TX
deborah.bigness@ttu.edu------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 05-01-2019 09:32 AM
From: Susan Goganian
Subject: Merchandising Tips
There are a few different categories here. "Should all inventory fit museum theme" has tax consequences, in addition to aesthetic and retail concerns. As for branded merchandise, people need a reason to buy beyond the fact that your name is on it. If the tote bag is beautiful/intriguing/informative and at the right price point, they'll buy. Unless you're MOMA or the Louvre, the branding should be subsidiary to the design.
Always have a variety of under $10 items, that's where your volume will likely come from.
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Susan Goganian
Director
Historic Beverly
Beverly MA
sgoganian@beverlyhistory.org
Original Message:
Sent: 04-30-2019 03:57 PM
From: Mamiko Carroll
Subject: Merchandising Tips
An interesting push-pull I've seen is about branded merchandise - it may not sell well, but if you don't have some, there are customers who will be distracted by that. Visitors expect to at least see a coffee mug and a tote bag, even if they aren't going to buy one, and if they don't see those, may think that there's something wrong with the gift shop. Rather than have them follow that negative distraction, if you find that branded merchandise doesn't sell well, think of it as a necessary display piece instead of deadweight!
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Mamiko Carroll
Public Information Officer
Hawaii State Art Museum
Honolulu HI
Original Message:
Sent: 04-26-2019 08:02 AM
From: Jed Reitler
Subject: Merchandising Tips
What works for you?
I'm open to any and all Gift Store merchandising tips!
- Top-selling product types?
- How open or tightly packed?
- Effective lighting and signage?
- Should all inventory fit museum theme?
- How many of the same item should be on display?
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Jed Reitler
Boston MA
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