5 Tips to Branding Your Shop

Who doesn’t love a great shopping bag? Like the treasures within, having your purchase wrapped up in beautiful gift paper, or put in a fun bag with a large graphic on the side can delight you and solidify a great shopping experience. Great packaging is also a key to strengthening brand identity and can have tremendous promotional impact.

Here are five ways to get the most out of your branded packaging.

1. If you have gift boxes with your logo or “mark” on them – use them as props and risers in showcases or on end caps. Stack them up, or soldier them in a row. Tie a ribbon around a few of them, or strategically place them on a table display to break up a line of merchandise.
2. If you have branded gift bags, proudly display several of them on a shelf behind your checkout counter, or along the top shelf of an end cap. Fill them with colorful tissue paper and hang branded gift tags from the handles. Hang them across a clothesline in a window to attract attention and reinforce the name of your gift shop.
3. Get tissue paper printed with your logo or “mark” and use it to wrap products purchased before placing in gift bags. Line your gift boxes with the tissue. Use it for stuffing hats or mittens to keep their form looking sharp. Line a showcase with the paper or fill clear vases with it.
4. Use branded wrapping paper for non-seasonal gift wrapping. During the holidays, offer one extra special “wow” paper that gets customers talking. Brand these purchases with a ribbon or a gift tag that has your logo on it.
5. Find a unique reusable shopping bag and get it printed with your logo/graphic across the front. By unique, we mean something that is made of an interesting material [recyclable or all-natural], or one that is reversible, or one that has zippered pockets. Sell it for a dollar or two, or give it away with a minimum purchase. Offer museum members a 5% discount on their next purchase when they use their reusable shopping bag. And of course, work these bags into your displays as well.

Get creative and have fun with your brand when it comes to packaging!

Do you have a unique way you’ve used packaging to promote your brand? We’d love to hear it! Share your ideas in the comments section!

Contributed by Lyn Falk, owner, educational speaker and designer at Retailworks Inc, an award-winning, nationally recognized design firm located in Mequon, Wis.