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Gift shops, seasonal items,

 Gift shops are a popular business, since people are always buying gifts for their family and relatives. There are more than 50,000 gift shops in United States. While some large retail chains have a specialty gift department, many are family businesses or franchisees.

Gift shops will stock merchandise according to the budget of  the buyers. Garments, Children's toys, puzzles, books, posters, home utensils, seasonal gift baskets  are some of  the popular items at gift shops. Other gift shops, especially at tourist locations may prefer to stock hand crafted items, which visitors can take back as souvenirs.

Most gift shops stock seasonal gifts and cards  according to the time of  the year and festive occasions like New Years Day, Valentine, Easter, Mother's day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The seasonal gifts are usually sold at a discount after the event. The last two months of  the year are usually the busiest for most gift shops

The location of  the gift shop is an important factor in the success of  the shop. The shop should be located in an area where there is a lot of  traffic - close to a busy shopping mall, departmental store or on the main road in the town. The visitors should have enough free time to browse through the gifts displayed so that they can make impulse purchases. Gift shops may also flourish in smaller communities,  if  they are on the route to a popular tourist destination.

Most merchandise for gift shops is purchased by the owner (for small shops) and buying agents for larger retail chains. They attend craft shows to check the latest trends and find out which gift items are popular. Some smaller shops may also stock crafts on consignment basis, where the craft supplier is paid only if  the craft item is sold.