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June 3
Market Wednesday
AmericasMart Atlanta
Atlanta, Ga.
800-ATL-MART (285-6278)
www.americasmart.com

June 24-30
Holiday & Home Expo/Total Home & Gift Market
Dallas Market Center
Dallas
800-DAL-MKTS (325-6587)
www.dallasmarketcenter.com

Voting soon to close in 2009 Retailers Choice Awards

Retailers, it is time to name your favorite gifts of the year, in Christian Retailing's 2009 Retailers Choice Awards. This is your opportunity to vote for the gifts and other products that you believe made the greatest impact on your life and the lives of your staff and customers.

Voting also puts you in line to win hundreds of dollars' worth of nominated products, absolutely free-to sell in your store, distribute or keep for yourself. You could win products such as inspirational mugs from DaySpring or God's Girlz dolls from Kerusso. Winners will be selected at random from participating stores.

"Remember that people tend to focus on faith, family and friends when the going gets rough. There is a reason why inspirational gifts focus on positive words of Scripture. Christians need to hear them, especially in tough times.

"Whether customers can afford to buy a new house or new car is irrelevant. Most people will still buy gifts for the family and friends they love."

Dan Hobson, owner, Carpentree (Bare Bones Business: Retailing essentials in a downturn economy, Inspirational Gift Trends, Jan. 5, 2009)

List based on sales data for April 1-30, 2009, provided by Christian Books & More Gold and used with permission.

See our Top 100 Gifts list in the June 8 issue of the Inspirational Gift Trends magazine or click here.

What advice would you give Christian retailers about deciding which types and how much of baby products to carry?
"New parents are spending a remarkable estimate of $6,200 on baby-related goods and services during their baby's first 12 months. Factors encouraging product sales are the strong national birth rate of approximately 4 million babies per year and the open-pocketed spending patterns of mature, dual-income parents-especially working mothers and baby boomer grandparents. Overall, baby product sales are expected to continue their upswing with U.S. births predicted to rise to 4.5 million over the next few years. Therefore, it is imperative to have a nice-size portion of your store dedicated to the baby product category. The size of your store is obviously a very significant factor in how much product you can carry, but items such as new parent guides, toys, garments and baby care products are at the top of a new parent's list and are therefore a must-have in your store."

"My customers like hand-crafted items that are from Israel," said Grace Boss, whose Boundless Grace store in Tilton, N.H., features a special section spotlighting Holy Land products. "I have a four-shelf display case filled with olive wood products. I'm enthusiastic about the products."