Lets face it. It is hard to compete with the retail giants out there when you are running an independent retail store. In this fast paced world, they sell convenience by having it all under one roof, and you would have to sell at a loss to touch their prices. But customers still prefer the personality of smaller shops and the more that you can do to maintain your unique qualities, the better off you will be. Gift packaging, for instance, is a great way to differentiate your store in a sea of competition.

Gift packaging is an effective, affordable way to show your customers that you go the extra mile to serve them. You can find gift packaging materials including gift bags, gift wrapping paper, gift boxes, and tissue paper at wholesale prices through a number of providers. Not only does gift packaging differentiate your store, but it offers your customers an added convenience that they cant find in the large retail chain stores.

Gift packaging is one of those specialty services that cant be assigned a value. To the stressed out holiday shopper, or the husband buying an anniversary gift at the last minute, these services are priceless. Customers appreciate having a place where they can shop without all of the crowds and noise that has become the retail shopping experience. They will also appreciate a store that is willing to go the extra mile to make their shopping experience more convenient.

While Christmas is still obviously the time when wholesale gift packaging is most value, it is a good idea to keep a variety of gift wrapping paper, gift bags, and tissue paper on hand throughout the year. In addition to the holidays, events like birthdays, anniversaries, and weddings will bring in customers year-round. By offering them the convenience of gift packaging in the off-season, you are also more likely to have a customer when the holidays roll around.

Here are a few pointers for store owners who would like to add gift packaging as a specialty service in their shop:

Gift Bags and Boxes Make it Easy. Go through your inventory and determine a couple of sizes of boxes and bags you are most likely to use. Purchase each of these sizes wholesale in a few select colors, maybe to match your companys colors. Boxes and bags are an easy way to offer customers the convenience of gift packaging without causing you a hassle.

Gift Wrapping Apparel Boxes. Rather than selling apparel on the hanger, you could keep wholesale gift wrapping paper on hand and wrap apparel boxes in the store for your customers. By gift wrapping the box, you save your customer the time required to find a box at home and wrap it themselves.

Dont forget the tissue paper. Tissue paper is an affordable extra that can do so much for your gift packaging. It is easy to use tissue paper to dress up a gift bag or wrap a fragile item in a box. It also protects the product from rolling around in the package. Again, choose a few base colors (perhaps based on the colors of bags you offer) and buy in wholesale amounts to save money and avoid having to order every 2 weeks.

Gift packaging can be a very effective way to differentiate yourself in a world of retail similarity. As a small business, it is not hard to get lost in the clutter. For a wide variety of wholesale packaging ideas, visit Nu-Era at their online store, www.nu-era.com.