Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
American shoppers spend billions of dollars on gifts annually to celebrate new high school and college graduates and help them transition into their new seasons of life.
The average person buying graduation gifts will spend more than $100 per two graduates this spring, research from the National Retail Federation shows.
Consumers’ top graduation gift they give is cash, but high percentages of shoppers buy greeting cards and gift cards, according to the data. Clothing and electronics are also popular gifts.
Applied to Retail: Take steps to encourage customers to keep your store in mind for gift shopping by posting checklists of common items people need for moving and setting up apartments.
The second and third most popular items for graduation gifts–greeting cards and gift cards–are easy for you to display prominently at the front of your store and at every checkout counter.
You likely sell many of the items–such as storage bins, hand tools, packing tape, cleaning supplies and more–that new graduates need for moving to college or setting up lives after school.
Posters listing those must-have supplies can serve as reminders to customers to get those items for the graduates they know, or tip them off that a gift card from your store could be exactly what those new college students or professionals need.
