How to create a men’s gifting table
We often hear from retailers that men’s gifting can be tricky. It can be tempting to overcrowd displays with new stock and hope for the best. So, we’ve chatted with Gavin, Bookspeed’s Senior Sales Manager, to get his advice on creating men’s gifting tables that feel bold, visually cohesive and easy to shop, without going overboard on extra product.
Less is more
Sometimes there’s a tendency to overcrowd displays with new stock for Father’s Day. It’s about offering people options, but not too many. Otherwise, people often end up not deciding and not making a purchase.
Just a few, carefully chosen options will help the top sellers do really well, because it lets people feel like they’re making a choice. Plus, as a retailer, it shows a bit of confidence. Be bold; go for fewer products, but put more stock out. If you’ve got a pile of something it instantly starts to look like you’re expecting to sell it.
Build around colour and style
If you’ve already bought new product, think about what it looks like and put together a selection of items that go with it visually. It’s more important that your shop looks stunning and the products look beautiful together than having a strict theme. A lot of men’s gifting products are brown, dark blues and greens. They often sit in a sombre colour palette and have a traditional, classic feel. Buying books in that palette and visual style will complement what you already have. For example, titles like How to Dad or The Cocktail Bible tie in naturally with that look. The Sherlock Holmes Escape Book also fits that darker, moody aesthetic. They feel a bit different and make good gifts because they’re not necessarily something people would buy for themselves.
You might also have items with a brighter, more contemporary palette, so you could create a section that’s funkier and more colourful. Books like Brilliant Maps or Man Facts are bright, visually bold, and good sellers.
It depends on your customer base, but you can go one way or another visually depending on the stock you already have or even create zones around colour scheme or feel. If you prioritise making it visually coherent and interesting, people will pay attention.
Remerchandise what you already sell
You don't necessarily need to buy a completely new range for Father's Day. Sometimes it’s about rearranging and refocusing what you're already selling, and this is where books are great because adding in a couple of titles is a way of re-merchandising.
Books can signpost the broader range they're sat within; it’s almost subconscious messaging. Adding in one or two books with ‘Dad’ in the title can instantly signal that a whole section is a men’s gifting collection without changing much else. You might always stock travel or outdoorsy items, and these can easily be remerchandised during the run-up to Father’s Day. It’s good to have pick-up gifts for the last-minute person alongside higher end gifts that will have an ongoing shelf life, like cookbooks, interior or travel titles. Something like How to BBQ works well because it feels like a high-quality gift. The colours would look really good with a lot of darker men’s gifting palettes, and it can remain part of your summer offering afterwards. You're not taking a risk on stock that needs clearing before the occasion is over.
