9 Best Holiday Gift-Worthy Products to Sell on Your Store in 2020
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la, ka-ching—that’s you, happily singing to holiday carols—seeing how your sales go up because your customers love the products on your store.
Now, how do you get to that point… Lightbulb moment. You read this article and get amazing holiday gift-worthy product ideas. Now you’re thinking if it’s really that easy. Yes, it is. Just wait for it.
In this blog, we’ll go over products that people love getting for the holidays and take a look at some gifts people would rather avoid. Spoiler alert—socks are not on the unwanted list! In the end, you’ll know exactly which products you’ll want to sell on your store for the holiday season.
9 best-selling (and most-requested!) holiday gifts
The products in this list are guaranteed to sell on your online store and make your customer’s gift scouting easier. From exciting experience gifts to useful hobby gifts, you won’t need to look anywhere else for product recommendations to list on your store.
1. Surprise gifts
Some people love surprise gifts while others have strong hate feelings towards them. Yes, there’s a risk of gifting something totally impractical but there’s also potential to gift the most fun present of all time!
Holiday Cocktail Kit, uncommongoods.com
We’re classifying surprise gifts as something random, unexpected, and entertaining. Products, like:
- Glow in the dark tree ornaments
- Cocktail making kits
- Recipe book “31 days of broccoli”
- Ravioli making kits
Have your existing products in mind and think, how you can upgrade them, add additional value. If you get stuck, just google “weird/crazy/unusual [your main product field] products”, like “weird jewelry products”. You’ll get a bunch of ideas from there.
The good thing about these gifts is that they’re perfect for anyone. So selling these interesting products will give you the advantage to cater to most people, regardless of their age and gender.
2. Practical gifts
For some, receiving a gift that they can use on a daily basis, is an absolute dream. So what’s a useful gift? Toilet paper? In theory, yes… but it’s not really a gift-worthy product in comparison to:
- Kitchen utensils, like cutting boards (works well in wood-crafting stores)
- Towels
- Drinkware like insulated mugs
- Reusable bags (a great addition to any crafter’s store)
Have your current online store in mind and add products that you see being used on a daily basis.
The Great Gatsby Tote Bag, The Literary Gift Company
All of these practical gifts make our lives go a little more smoothly, so their recipients will surely be thankful. And thankful recipients means your customers will be satisfied with their gift purchase, too!
3. Cozy apparel gifts
The cold winter months are perfect to sell snuggly apparel gifts. We really can’t imagine a better time to cover ourselves in five layers of blankets. Okay, blankets aren’t really apparel, but they become one during the holidays.
Since apparel wears out in time, people are on the constant lookout for new stuff. Some fluffy and cozy product ideas for you:
- Blankets
- Hoodies
- Scarves, mittens & beanies
- Socks
If you’re selling knitted goods or custom sewn products, the above-mentioned products will perfectly fit into your store! Plus, these goods will be on demand for the holiday season and also for the entire winter season. You might keep getting increased sales even after the holidays.
4. Giftcards
Ah, gift cards… the lazy gifters go-to present. People choose to buy gift cards because it doesn’t require much decision making and you really can’t go wrong with a gift card.
Every other person prefers getting a gift card over a product. We don’t blame them—gift cards allow the recipient to choose their own gifts. And what’s better than choosing something for yourself?
Most online platforms offer technical solutions to execute gift cards, so just go for it! Here are some ideas:
- Gift cards to your own online store products
- Gift cards in partnership with other complementary brands (for example, if your store offers guided tours, you can add a gift card for a wine tasting session in a nearby winery)
SPA gift card, Unimarine SPA
Design your own digital gift cards and promote those to last-minute shoppers. It’s the perfect gift to order and receive within seconds, right on time to print out and slide under the tree.
5. Experience gifts
In a time where a hefty amount of people can say “I don’t really need anything”, gifting new experiences is the way to go. See how the gift of an experience is becoming increasingly popular in the screenshot below.
Experience gifts, Google Trends
The term ''experience gifts'' is open for interpretation but generally, it’s just about gifting an experience obtained through an activity. That can be bull riding for one and cherry-picking for another one. Some, more traditional experience gifts are:
- Theatre, cinema, concert tickets—great for reviewer blogs, like movie review blogs
- A day at the SPA—works well if you already have wellness and beauty products on your store
- Camping, night trips—ideal for travel blogs or tour stores
- Cooking, sewing, art, etc. masterclasses—the perfect addition to your self-made products!
Ideally, if you’re going with adding experience gifts to your store, have one be more sedentary and chill, and the other one active. This way you’ll give your customers options to choose from.
6. Luxury gifts
While the holidays are all about family time and being together, that doesn’t mean we can’t splurge on each other’s gifts. But what defines a splurge?
For example, in 2018, 33% of American adults were projected to spend at least $1000 on gifts per person. Followed by 22% of Americans to spend between $500 and $900, 29% to spend between $100 and $499, and only 3% planned to spend less than $100. So think three number worthy gifts.
Heart station necklace, KAY Jewelers
For what it’s worth, selling expensive luxury gifts on your store will give your customers options to choose from in terms of pricing. Here’s a list of luxury holiday gift-worthy products:
- Jewelry
- Holiday trips
- Perfume
- Designer goods
If the above-mentioned products match your niche market, then add those! If no, then don’t worry—we believe that you can take each and every one of your products to a new level.
You can package your luxury goods in different packaging, offer hand-written gift cards with them, or even incorporate more expensive materials into the product itself.
7. Wellness gifts
Self-care and wellness gifts have always been widely searched, especially for the holidays. These types of gifts don’t break the bank. But if you’re willing to spend more, you can easily find a wide range of luxury options, too.
Wellness gifts, Google Trends
A wellness gift can be anything from beauty to healthcare and relaxation products:
- Beard oils
- Bath bombs and shower jellies
- Salt lamps
- Face masks
- Scented candles
These products can be an addition to a wellness blog, beauty product store, or even a fitness blog. When it comes to deciding which of these products to sell on your store, think about their price range. A good idea is to have products both on the cheaper and more luxury side. That way, everyone visiting your store can find something within their budget.
8. Personalized gifts
Who wouldn’t appreciate a “World’s Best Human” mug? Or a t-shirt with three kittens riding a horse? Everyone loves personalized gifts because they’re unique.
The best part about personalized gifts is that you have unlimited possibilities for creating those product designs. Now, to keep your store looking organized and on-brand—design for your niche market.
Coffee mugs, Wait But Why Store
Nowadays you can custom-design almost everything. As for the holiday season, people are more likely to buy certain items so stick with these gift-worthy products:
- Mugs
- Necklaces
- Hoodies
- Blankets
When it comes to sourcing, you can create these products on your own or use 3rd party fulfillment providers. They use the designs you provide, then print and ship products on-demand to your customers.
9. Hobby gifts
People tend to spend more on hobbies because they see their value in self-growth. Today’s market for hobby products is ever-growing. And when you add up the increased demand for experience gifts, you get the ultimate hobby experience gift.
Chocolate tasting kit, Askinosie
You’ve probably already built your online store or blog around your hobby. Think of the gifts you’d like to get to work on your interests. For example:
- Pencil sets, sketch pads, and origami sets for artsy websites
- Recipe books, cooking measurement cheat sheets for foodie blogs and cookware stores
- Carving sets, wood material guidebooks for woodcraft stores
It all comes down to your niche market and their interests. Have your customers in mind and add products they would buy for their hobbies. Your customers are likely to get gifts for themselves, too!
3 Worst-selling products as holiday gifts
Urgh, there’s nothing cringier than watching someone unwrap your present and see a pretend smile on their face. They look at you to say—thanks—and you realize your gift was a fail. That’s not how you want your customers to feel.
We’re sharing 3 products that you shouldn’t bother adding to your store and boost as holiday gifts—no one really wants to receive them anyway
1. Regifted and used gifts
Selling and gifting used goods is tricky. First off, you don’t have a guarantee the used product is fully functioning and without any visual defects. Second, how can you put a price on something that has already been used? And third, gifting a used gift is not considered appropriate for the holidays. Unless, of course, that’s the theme for gifts.
As for regifted presents… Americans spent $13 billion on unwanted gifts in 2018. Woah, right? That’s not it—22% of the unwanted gift recipients regifted their presents—that’s $2 billion in regifts only. How likely would you say those second gift recipients appreciated their gifts?
Unless you’re running an online thrift store, we don’t recommend adding second-hand products to your store. Most people don’t appreciate them as gifts for the holidays.
2. Home cleaning products
Home cleaning products take practical gifts to a whole new level. Cleaning products are not gift-worthy and can potentially spark negative assumptions.
Just imagine gifting your mother a 12-pack of Fairy dishwasher soap. Thoughts? She’d probably look at you in a weird way and assume you think badly of the dish cleanliness. No dessert for you!
Again, you don’t want your customers to feel that way (and don’t get their dessert), so don’t push cleaning products for holiday sales.
3. Decorative knick-knacks
Ceramic angels, wooden snowflakes, mini vases, and rustic tin cans—not a desirable holiday present for most people.
The holidays are about gifting something meaningful or, at least, useful. Decorative knick-knacks just feel like a last-minute gift that nobody asked for. And in a time where people try to buy less and think more about minimalism, knick-knacks are the complete opposite. So don’t bother adding those to your store.
Over to you
The holidays are a busy time for both your customers and you. Your customers want to find good gifts without spending a lot of time on research and you want people to buy their gifts from your store.
Go through our list of best-selling holiday gifts and write down ones that suit your niche market. Then find the right suppliers or create these products yourself, list them on your store, and start promoting!
The key to the perfect holiday gift is to show the receiver that you have given their present your time and thought. Be mindful of the products you add to your store, and when in doubt, ask yourself—would I want to get this as a present?
Now, off you go, add only the best holiday gifts to your store and be the most loved online Santa out there!