RETAILER ASK THE WHAT NON-GEAR ITEMS DO YOU SEE HOLIDAY SHOPPERS GRAVITATE TOWARDS MOST? “Gift cards. We sell loads of gift cards around the holidays. They’re great for people who want to get a gift for the musician in their life, but don’t necessarily know what that musician might want or need. We also sell lots of gift cards for music lessons. Not everybody uses them though. We have over $7,000 worth of unused gift cards out in the world that our accountant would love to clear off the books. Also, we started buying and selling used vinyl records and, so far, they’ve been a hit!” Max Larson, Owner Centre Music House Framingham, Massachusetts
“During the holidays we offer a pri- vate music lesson promotion. We have a ‘stocking stuffer special’ that provides the recipient with a month of lessons along with a few holiday-themed goodies to fill the stocking. We also set up a display table at the front of the sales floor packed with holiday-themed musical items. The gift display table does well with last-minute shoppers or parents looking for a music-themed gift for their child’s music teacher.” Scott Mulrooney, Owner The Music Shop Southington, Connecticut
“Lesson packages have become increasingly popular. Many custom- ers love giving the gift of music education, as lessons are something people may not buy for themselves but appre- ciate when received.” Bill Trevena, Sales Manager George’s Music, Inc. North Wales, Pennsylvania
“At BlackCat Music Shop, some of our best-sellers are our store merch items. We work with our local printer to make high-quality hoodies, hats, jackets, t-shirts and more with our store logos. Tourists love these and we get repeat local customers by changing up the colors and styles.” Adam Kary, Owner BlackCat Music Shop Berkeley Springs, West Virginia
62 I MUSIC INC. I NOVEMBER 2025
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