The fabulous sunshine at the end of February was a welcome boost to gift retailers, especially those in tourist and coastal areas.
At Daisy Chain in Stratford-upon-Avon, owner Coralie Keach enthused: “Stratford-upon-Avon has been buzzing with tourists the past few weekends and the general feel is one of a very happy and positive approach. Customers seem excited about all our lovely newness coming through and we are experiencing some surprisingly wonderful sales figures on some higher end luxury gift items. On the greeting card side, I have worked hard to source a very different and diverse card offering, and this approach has gone down extremely well with locals and tourists alike.”
Continues Coralie: “With regard to the usual doom and gloom we all encounter on a daily basis, I very much love the mind set of what will be will be. Just enjoy, be positive and make the very best of every trading day.”
Up in Ambleside, Heidi Schramli, owner of gift shop Detail, commented: “Beautiful weather and Spring in the air. Despite all the politicking there is definitely a positive, happy vibe around at the moment. We’re selling lots of flora and fauna themed products along with our happy Herdy range.”
On the South coast, Bob England, owner of England At Homein Brighton, confirmed that his shop too, had benefitted from the warm, sunny weather.“We definitely seem to have had an upsurge in sales over the last week or so,” he told GiftsandHome.net. “This normally stops after the February half term but has carried on all week. We’ve been very happy with this little burst of Spring weather.”
Down in Cornwall, it was a similar story. “It’s been glorious here – proper sunshine and warm,” confirmed Keiron Cockley, co-owner of Brocante which has shops in Fowey, Mevagissey and St Ives. “The positives have been a good half-term, which is usually a quiet break as everyone is away skiing, but lots of families were visiting Cornwall this time and we had some good days. Now that we’re into March, there will hopefully tend to be more good days then bad.”
Keirion added that the shops are still seeing a trend towards large purchases “but we are selling clothes well. People are already thinking about treating themselves for the new season.”
Brightlingsea too, was another coastal town that saw an increase in trade. “We did see some more visitors as the good weather coincided with half term,” commented Olivia Reilly, owner of Little Boat Gifts. “We’ve also been getting more customers in planning ahead for Mother’s Day.”
Monday February 24 was reported to be the warmest winter’s day on record, with temperatures reaching a sizzling 20C.
Top: Beaches, parks and tourist centres have had a record week thanks to the unusually warm winter weather.
