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Wild Cards & Gifts enjoys increased sales without online help

Sarah Stowe

Giftware franchise, Wild Cards & Gifts has proven that there is still a place for face-to-face retailing, posting record sales over the Mother’s Day season despite not having an online shopping platform.

The Melbourne-based business recorded an unprecedented 10.4 percent increase in sales on last year for the week leading up to Mother’s Day. Sales records were also broken for Father’s Day last year and Valentine’s Day, with the largest increases seen in Victoria (26 percent) and South Australia (21 percent).

Still a place for bricks and mortar

We hear so much about the rise of online retailing that we tend to forget the other 93 percent of sales that are occurring in traditional retail stores. Particularly in the case of Mother’s Day, customers like to feel and touch gifts in a store rather than waiting for them to arrive in the mail, said franchisor Lawrence Boyle.

Boyle said the increase in business can be attributed to a lack of interest rate rises and improved product offerings from suppliers. Wild Cards & Gifts also recently posted its first eight page online information catalogue to drive customers in-store.

We’re happy to use the web to encourage customers to visit our stores, but we are holding off on introducing an online shopping platform until we find a model that provides increased income to all franchisees, he said.