According to Deloitte’s predictions for this holiday season, 60% of all gift buying will come from high spenders.  These shoppers are defined as those who spend over $2,100 on holiday gifts. The majority of them, the Deloitte retail survey shows, have an average household income of over $100,000.  The percentage of purchases being made online by this group has increased year by year, but not as dramatically as you might think.  There is still a lot of business to be done by bringing high income customers into your store.

How can you target this demographic?  One way is to advertise in periodicals whose subscribers are mostly in higher income areas.  Another method is to create a direct mail piece featuring a few select items – and promoting your personalized service and gift wrapping – to send to a rented list chosen either by neighborhood or income.

Another effective way to attract wealthy shoppers who may not be familiar with your shop is to partner with a charity. Host an open house with a percentage of sales going to the non-profit, and ask them to invite their donors. Provide each guest with a $10 gift card for a return visit.

We advertise in many of the concert and theater programs in our community.  This support is important in helping to keep the arts alive, a cause close to our hearts,  but it’s also a great way for us to reach a more affluent potential customer.  

It pays to give some thought as to what these customers might be looking for. Do you already offer a variety of price points?  Department stores traditionally appealed to a range of shoppers by offering “good, better, best” in every category.  While this may not work for today’s specialty shop, it is worth offering some options at higher price points in order to attract your share of the big spenders.

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder

PS Need a gift for a fellow retailer? I am offering free shipping on autographed copies of Specialty Shop Retailing: How You Can Succeed in Today’s Market for just $19.95 on our website. (Wouldn’t you rather buy it there than support Amazon?)