Hidden Revenue That Many Tourist and Attraction Gift Shops Are Missing

Postcards? Check! Keychains? Check! T-shirts? Check! Most attraction gift shops carry the old standbys tourists are looking for to remember their visit. But many are missing out on a huge high-margin revenue stream – consumables (specifically snack foods)! Is your gift shop leaving money on the table?

Small Snacks Are Big for Business

Would you be surprised to learn the global market for snacks is predicted to grow from $94.5 billion in 2015 to $138.2 billion by 2020? When you look at the numbers, it’s easy to see where the trend is going. Ninety-four percent of Americans say they snack at least one time per day, and 45 percent of Americans snack more than three times per day. When visiting attractions on vacation, snacks are huge. Meal times are often unpredictable, people spend hours traveling and staving off hunger is an absolute necessity. It only makes sense gift shops can capitalize on customers’ hunger pangs by offering healthy, sweet, salty and savory snack options.

Take Advantage of Your Captive Audience

Gift shop customers are a captive audience. They want to take in everything you have to offer so they can find the perfect souvenirs and gifts. Some people use the gift shop to pass the time before a tour starts, while they wait for other members of their party to catch up or to come in for respite from the elements.

Snack food merchandising in a gift shop can be somewhat tricky when real estate is at a premium. It is critical that displays do not get in the way of bigger ticket items, but are visible and accessible. Floor and counter racks are ideal for gift shops, as you can take advantage of the impulse buying urge at the checkout. When the snacks are “right there,” they can be difficult to resist.

Make Snack Foods an Extension of the Brand

A great way to entice shoppers to buy snacks is to sell private-label, branded snacks that make them unique to your town or attraction. People might not be all that interested in a regular old bag of trail mix, but trail mix straight from your attraction makes the food something of a novelty and conversation piece. A hungry shopper might buy one bag of the plain mix, but she might buy three or four bags of the branded mix to give to her friends when she gets home to share the unique experience.


Are you looking for a strategic partner to help you increase your revenue?

At Mister Snacks, we have been helping gift shops across the country increase their bottom line through snack foods, including private label snacks. We even created a private label line of snacks for Mount Rushmore. If you want to learn more about the ways we can help you grow your gift shop’s bottom line, contact our team today.