With Mother’s Day the second biggest gift giving occasion of the year for gift retailers, gift shops put their all into making sure that they did their very best to make the most of it, despite being closed, with many of the best sellers linking in with the current trend for faux flowers and planters.
“Mother’s Day sales started much earlier this year – I think lots of people have been missing their mums!” commented Tracey Bryant, co-owner of Expressions in Swindon, The Cats Whiskers in Bishop’s Cleeve and Polkadot in Keynsham.“Our shop windows, social media and live videos were at the forefront of showcasing our Mother’s Day cards and gifts, and our everlasting flowers were very popular. “
At England at Home, Bob England, owner of two England at Home stores in Brighton, concurred that planters, and vases in particular, were among the most popular lines for mums, alongside scented candles, mugs and tea towels. “Unfortunately, with most of our team on furlough, we didn’t have time to put a Mother’s Day display in our windows as we’ve been so busy with mail order and click and collect,” Bob explained.
As Keiron Cockley, co-owner of four Brocante shops in Fowey, Mevagissey and St Ives, pointed out: “Having to remain closed for Mother’s Day, and other significant events such as Easter, means that we have had to pull out all the stops to improve our online offer. Our content manager, Maria Norman, has worked hard to stay in touch with our client base, using regular blogs and emails to help drive sales. We are only taking a fraction of what we would have taken compared to what we would have taken if we had been open, but it is still a great help. Smaller gift items sold really well for Mother’s Day, as we offered to wrap and send direct with a card for mum as well.” Added Keiron: “This time last year, we would never have thought we would be offering click and collect and employing someone full time to manage our website.”
At Williams of Audlem in Audlem, owner Judy Evans explained: “Selling essential items means that we have remained open, with our Facebook page and our shop windows key to promoting sales. We have made a special effort to keep giftware light and ‘post-friendly’, with our Mother’s Day gift and card sales equally strong this year. Selling particularly well were Emma Ball’s bee themed products, Bomb Cosmetic’s candles in a tin, Ashleigh & Burwood’s reed diffusers, Miss Sparrow’s bamboo socks, Miss Milly jewellery, Jellycat’sRiverside Ramblers, and Eco Chic products across the range. Plus, with the help of virtual trade fairs, we have complemented our existing ranges with those from new suppliers to include Dexam, The Glasgow Soap Company, Peter Pauper Press, WPL Gifts and The New English Tea Company.”
However, Mother’s Day wasn’t a winner for all gift shops. “Mother’s Day behind a mask definitely isn’t one we want to repeat,” said Sarah Halsall, owner of Hand Picked by Henrietta in Chapel-en-le-Frith. “Unfortunately, our usual best weekend of the year certainly wasn’t, although we did receive a few orders and many messages of support. However, we can’t wait to be back in our shop doing what we love.”
Top: Coral and Mint’s star earrings were designed as a gift for mums.
