Celebrate Your Retail Employees With These 7 Thoughtful Gifts

Looking for an awesome and inspiring gift for your retail employees? The Retail Doctor has the answer with this gift guide for 2022. But let’s step back.

Showing your retail employees some recognition at the end of a long year is important. But finding the right gift can take time and effort, especially if you’re on a budget.

The good news is that there are plenty of options for every budget that will allow your staff to learn and grow in their careers.

It is so tempting to say employees just want cash.

But have you ever gone to buy something for yourself and, as you took out the cash, said, “My manager Carolyn gave these bills to us!”?

No. Even if your manager’s name was Carolyn, no one remembers cash.

Worse gift cards.

Sure they are easy to click, but they are impersonal as heck.

Worse still, a gift card to Amazon.

So this year, consider these gifts that say, “Great job,” and also look at the possibilities open to you. Let’s end the swag obsession and gifting of knickknacks for something that truly could change their future.

Use this brief list to find the perfect thank-you gift for your team and tell them how much you appreciate all their hard work.

These seven items are perfect for a range of your retail crew through to your best managers and almost any other business.

How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Some people think this is a self-help book, but for just $20, you’ll learn how to lead a team and get people to like you. I particularly like his instructions on how to be a leader by changing people’s attitudes and behavior without causing resentment. This book, more than any other in its category, has positively affected more life trajectories than can be tracked. Make sure you give them a yellow highlighter – they’ll want it.

Retail Pride by Ron Thurston

So many in retail started like Ron, and I did when a part-time job led to an accidental career. His stories will make you proud of choosing to work every day with the public. Like the other books I recommend, if you work with teams of any kind and pride yourself on customer service, for $20, you will get the message that if you stick with it, you can afford to live a comfortable lifestyle.

The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz

A buddy of mine was in one of the original touring companies of A Chorus Line. I met him after an amazing performance. What did he credit it to? The whole cast had read this book and realized we are products of our own thinking. Get that right, and the sky’s the limit. Still true, and the $25 for a hardcover is a bargain.

A subscription to The Robb Report

This is a monthly subscription to some of the finest cars, jewelry, apparel, and more. A one-year subscription will set you back $100, but the world it opens to the reader is one of opulence, beauty, and considering what more there is to achieve. Bonus if their customers buy such items.

CLEAR membership

Have a buyer or salesperson who travels a lot? For about $200 a year, you can gift them a speed pass through almost any airport. That’s important if they fly from or to hubs like Newark, like I do. While holiday traveling can be tough, CLEAR’s biometric solution gets you through TSA in a matter of minutes.

A Night At A 5-Star Hotel

Check TripAdvisor for a local town and find their best hotel pick, then buy your best employee a night or two there and with dining (no alcohol on your dime.) Make sure to tell them to park the car using the valet. You choose the experience but figure $500 to start.

First Class AirfareTo A Major City

It’s easy to say – it’s the same plane, why pay extra just like you can say it’s the same hotel and stay in a broom closet in Bermuda. Flying first class for 4+ hours shows that space and service make a difference. Want to make it even better? Give a pair of wireless noise-canceling headphones. I prefer Bose for about $200, but you have options. You could even provide this for travel to a market. Prices can vary greatly, so figure $1,000. Too much of an expense? Tell them you’ll upgrade their next vacation flight to first class.

Another option might be to upgrade a handbag, a phone, or something they may have had to settle on versus a product or experience they want. You accomplish this under the guise of doing a mystery shop together to see how other stores work.

If you want to give one of these suggestions along with your usual cash gift, that also works, as long as the cash isn’t the standalone gift. Make the gift memorable by inscribing the book or adding a personal note for the subscription.

With any of these gifts, your employees will start the new year feeling appreciated, valued, and excited for what lies ahead.

And if you want to give your business a great gift, check out my SalesRX online retail sales training. Starting under $500, you get the exact steps to convert more lookers to buyers and more buyers to higher average check. Just go to SalesRX.com