Linda O’Boyle, owner of Metro Home Style, a store in Syracuse, NY, offers complimentary gift wrap to her customers. She says it offers her an edge. O’Boyle’s practice is shared by many other retailers, who routinely offer gift wrapping services to their customers. It’s considered a “value-added” service that keeps customers happy and coming back for more, experts say. Retail expert Gabriela Delworth, of Toronto, says “customers have less and less time to buy gifts.” She suggests saving your customers’ time and keeping them in the store a little longer by offering gift-wrapping services.

While offering gift wrap is often standard as a customer-service tool, some question its usefulness. Mike Kraus is a Los Angeles-based retail advisor for allbusiness.com, an online media and e-commerce company that serves as a resource for business professionals. He doesn’t believe in gift wrapping as a customer-service tool. His reasoning is that offering such a service may prove frustrating for customers who don’t wish to stand around and wait as packages are wrapped. This is where wireless pagers, such as those by JTECH, enable customers to both have their purchases wrapped and continue to browse. JTECH’s ShopperPass™ pagers are easy to operate and easy to install. No need to have customers inside your store simply waiting around the gift wrapping table. Hand them a wireless pager and send them back out on the sales floor where there is potential for impulse purchases and increased sales. Also reap the benefits like many other retailers who use gift packaging such as bags, wraps or boxes as an extension of their store’s marketing strategy and branding.