Are a Gift Store and Gift Item Business Profitable?

Gifting is a long Indian tradition that shows our love and respect for others. With steady growth in India’s per capita disposable income, we have seen many luxury and miscellaneous businesses grow up in Tier 1 cities. The growth of gifting businesses can be traced easily to other developed countries, which generate significant revenue around the world. There’s a saying in marketing, that to sell any product, you need to hit the emotion of the buyers. Gifts run on similar trends, except they are not just a form of luxury items, rather a respectful way of showing your gratitude and love to others. One of the major factors driving this side of the economy is that gifting extends to people of all castes, religions, age, regardless of their gender and financial status. So you have got almost 8 billion people who are potential customers for your gift store business.

When you have so much to gain from a gift store business, then why not try it once! The common question that we get from new entrepreneurs is how to open a gift store business and form a robust gift store business plan. Apart from the steady growth and revenue generation prospects, you also have satisfaction at the end of the day. If you are looking for how to open a gift store business and are confused about the new gift store business plan, then this blog is for you. Let’s check some small scale business ideas related to the gift store business that can be opened anywhere in your city.

How to start a profitable gift store business in India?

Check the 10 important steps in starting a profitable gift store business in India below. These small business ideas from home will make your gift store business run smoothly.

1. Start a Small Gift Store

We understand that you are all excited to run a big, highly profitable business. Yet as the saying goes, every big business once started small. You have to understand that your resources are limited, and you cannot expand and scale beyond a certain limit at the beginning. This leaves you with a single option to start small, but steady. Since this would be one of your new business ideas, you need to start with creating a financial plan for your small profitable business ideas. It will include the estimated cost of setting your business, financing plans, ways to gather resources, and more. The plan will also include your investment sectors and how much to invest.

2. Location Set-up

The next important decision to make while establishing small business ideas is the location. You need to choose the location carefully since you need to attract consumers as this is not a necessity for people. Your products should be relevant and engaging for the customers so that they are hooked to that product in the first look only. This location is important as it will decide how much footfall appears in your store. Find a place that is known for huge marketing in your area, and is known to attract high-class people that spend their quality time in that region. Try to get to a place that is easy to locate and see from a distance.

3. Check out your competition

Gifting is one of the small profitable business ideas that can be started easily even from your home. Check out the competition around your setup and in your city. Try to visit the shops and see their inventory. You can also note down some of the key metrics for a well-running gift store business. You can analyse them and try to optimise them in your business.

4. Be Competitive, Yet Original

A common misconception among businesses is that they can copy the successful business and become successful themselves. Yet, it is the biggest mistake that may cost your whole business. You definitely need to be competitive but don’t copy blindly. Be original and innovative. The originality will create a brand name for itself and will help you establish your brand. The next part is to be creative, as gifting needs a catchy and attractive interface for your business. These are unique business ideas but have a huge potential for growth. You can start by putting an attractive name for your gift shop and then going for some eye-catching designers and lighting. You can hire professional freelance graphic designers for the same.

5. Finding supplies and inventory

After the set-up, it’s time to build up a good variety of inventory. Try to gather contacts of reputable suppliers in your area and negotiate the payments. Always obtain inventory from more than one source to keep your business functioning. You can even order things online if they are available on sale.

6. First Time Inventory

You will need an estimated amount of INR 40-60k for your first-time inventory, depending on your store size. Try to keep all the hot-selling gift items for your first time sale. The commonly gifted items include soft toys, diaries, cards, stationery, photo frames, coffee mugs, showpiece, clocks, teddies, couple gifts, and other similar items. Make sure you spend a significant amount of money buying these hot selling products.

7. Decide on hiring staff

If you are starting small, it’s better to go all alone, since hiring staff will need money, which chances are you will not have in the beginning. However, when your business starts running well and making profits, you can decide to hire an employee. If you take a look at gift stores around, you will find that most of them are run with only a single person because the gift store business does not have much work to cope with.

8. Consider the right hours

The next step is to choose your working hours that have the maximum number of footfalls. Usually, the evening time is a more suitable time for gift shops in the neighbourhood, as people get out for a stroll in the evening. In a marketplace, every time from morning till night is a suitable time. You will have to look at the market in your locality to understand the right shop time.

9. Use Sale Occasionally

You can draw customers’ attention by organising frequent sales in a month or a week. Discounts attract many customers to buy things even when those are not required. These are some best business ideas for the home that can help you in increasing your sales.

10. Book-keeping

When you have started your business, then you certainly need to maintain your accounts. A book-keeping software can help you in automating your resources. Apps like OkCredit help you in organising your accounting and help you keep track of your credits.

Conclusion

Apps like OkCredit help you in managing your financial transactions. Opening a small business like a gift store business requires meticulous business and financial planning, ranging from financing options, location, to market research. You can enhance your sales by giving frequent discounts and marketing techniques. Apply these ideas and make your small-scale gift store business a huge success.

Also read:

1) How to open a gift shop in 7 easy steps?
2) Wedding Season is On! Here are The Best 20 (+1) Gifting Ideas for Wedding
3) Here's How You Can Create A Perfect Business Plan in 8 steps
4) How To Do Planning & Manage An Online Business?
5) OkCredit: All you need to know about OkCredit & how it works.

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FAQs

Q. How to start a gift store business in India?

Ans. Starting a gift store business is easy, but you need a good business and financial plan. You need to check the target market, their income in your area, your competitors, and the products that are in high demand.

Q. How can discounts help you in selling more gift items?

Ans. Discounts help in luring customers or drawing their attention to your products. When your sales volume is up, you will automatically make profits.

Q. How can I finance my business for a gift store?

Ans. You usually have two options to finance your business. One is to take credit or loan from banks or other financial institutions, and the other is to use your own money to start the gift store business.