Apr 13, 2015

New resources offered at the 2015 Boston Gift Show

The Boston Gift Show attracted souvenir, resort, specialty retailers, as well as jewelers, museums, home accessory stores and galleries throughout New England to the 2015 edition held March 28-31 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.

Showcasing the diverse taste of the New England region, vendors were categorized in five divisions on the show floor, including: Gifts, Souvenirs, Made In New England and Treasures to Go. In addition, the newly expanded and rebranded “Makers’ Market” section put a special spotlight on artisans and designers showcasing crafts in a variety of categories. Attending retailers voted on the section’s “Best Maker,” selecting North Country Wind Bells of Round Pond, Maine, as the winner.

The Boston Gift Show put the spotlight on 48 first-time vendors with a number of pre-show marketing programs and on-site promotions ranging from show floor stickers identifying them as new exhibitors, to lobby displays and more. These exhibitors were also contestants in the show’s “Best New Product” award competition. Voted on by retailers, the March 2015 winner was YANA (You Are Not Alone) of Newport, Rhode Island.

New vendors and long-standing exhibitors were positive about the show’s traffic and reported a successful level of business conducted on the show floor.

In addition to the product selection, the March edition offered a number of buyer services and educational offerings. Among them included parking rebates for pre-registered buyers, the Urban Retail Marketing Boot Camp series hosted by Snap Retail, exhibitor product preview areas and the 50/50 Giveaway, which gives buyers the chance to enter to win daily drawings for $50 in cash or merchandise credits to use towards show orders. Nancy Frid and Deb Wallis, co-owners of Vintage Point, Fargo, North Dakota, won the 50/50 Grand Prize — a two-night hotel stay during the April 2016 edition.

Retailers were pleased with the new resource offerings at the show this year.

The Boston Gift Show will return to the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center April 2-5, 2016. For exhibitor information, contact Erica Davidson, Urban Expositions, 1690 Roberts Blvd NW, Ste. 111, Kennesaw, GA 30144. Phone: 678.370.0347; Fax: 678.285.7469; Email: edavidson@urban-expo.com. For buyer information or to pre-register, attendees contact John Motondo at 312-470-1167; email: jmotondo@urban-expo.com or visit www.bostongiftshow.com.