Howe Caverns is literally a cool place to visit at a constant 52 degrees, and its lodge gift shop harnesses the chilly air and circulates it in the shop for a reason. The natural air conditioning keeps visitors cool during busy summer months at the Howes Cave, New York, destination.
But ushering cavern air into the store also spikes apparel sales, says Terran Radliff, retail manager of the 1,500-square-foot gift shop, sweet shop and on-site gem mining attraction.
The gift shop at Howe Caverns is housed in a 1929 main lodge that has been renovated over the years, and especially since it was purchased in 2007 and is now privately owned. The property retains its historic feel while accommodating guests with the amenities they expect when visiting, Radliff says.
Because the cavern entrance is within the lodge and its retail experiences, venting air into the shop is no problem. It’s a helpful reminder to guests of the cool cave temperatures and a nudge to check out the store’s array of hoodies, sweatshirts, long-sleeved T-shirts and other offerings.
No detail was left out of the mood-setting, merchandising, purchasing or customer service experience at Howe Caverns’ gift shop.
“Clothing is carefully chosen and art reviewed for each piece,” says Radliff. “We keep an eye on current trends while also retaining some of the pieces that are popular year after year.”
The gift shop at Olentangy Caverns shows off beautiful gemstone earrings and artwork.
Mainly, all things namedrop are a crowd pleaser and displays with suggestive presentations like filling Howe Caverns tote bags with ancillary products such as drinkware or beach towels keep sales ringing.
Plus, visitors aren’t missing out on the views while they shop.
“Spacious and airy with large windows and lovely scenery, our gift shop welcomes customers to take time and browse,” Radliff says.
Naturally presentable
Thoughtful presentation guides customers through the gift shop without them realizing it. For example, children’s items are grouped in a department, “which makes shopping easier for those who are not looking for children’s products,” says Radliff.
And because rocks are the whole point of visiting a cavern, accenting them in the gift shop is important, she says. These are grouped and organized based on common, unusual, children’s and metaphysical rocks and stones.
“We are fluid with our displays, so if we wish to highlight something, we group items on a fixture or wall,” Radliff says. “For example, a Howe Caverns sweatshirt paired with sweatpants and a hat or helmet are displayed together with other souvenir items, or we’ll use various sizes of rocks and souvenir items to make a display.”
Because customers seek out headlamps and lanterns, positioning them by products Radliff hopes to move draws attention to those items.
Meanwhile, at Olentangy Caverns in Delaware, Ohio, a decidedly kids’ focus dominates the shop because this cave experience is tailored for family-friendly adventures, says Katie Meyerdirk, retail manager and head of marketing and events.
Kids enjoy a wall of plush as well as a cart filled with many collectible rocks at Olentangy Caverns’ gift shop.
Presentations speak to the natural world beyond the shop’s doors, so Meyerdirk reclaims downed ash trees and sometimes chops logs to create display tiers.
“We have a rustic feel here, and so we’ve made necklace displays with a tree stump and branches, and I use wood blocks to establish different heights for my displays,” she says.
There’s an “organic separation” between souvenirs for children and adults.
“The north side of the store is all of the binoculars, plush and dig kits while the south side is jewelry, rocks and gems, and apparel,” says Meyerdirk.
At Olentangy Caverns’ new rock and gem shop that opened on-site this year, Meyerdirk “gives it a different vibe” with Zen-inspired music and displays of amethyst cathedrals, geodes, zodiac stones and rock collecting kits.
She adds, “It’s hard to make a rock and gem store not look pretty because it naturally is.”
The buy side
“With retail, you can get shiny object syndrome,” says Meyerdirk. “I bought a mushroom book for our gift shop because it looked cute, but now I can’t figure out how it fits into the theme. This entire rock and gem shop is a theme, making the buying a bit easier.”
Indeed, Meyerdirk takes a nontraditional approach to purchasing for the cavern’s main gift shop. She wants to offer approachable price points for kids, field trippers and families, so she has started to buy in bulk — supersizing orders to counts of 600 headlamps or 1,000 lanterns. This way, she can attain a lower per unit cost for name-drop items guests love.
“It’s a very different retail buying approach,” Meyerdirk admits. “But I get a good price, the customer gets a good price, and we have unique products that are customized for Olentangy Caverns.”
For example, rather than charging $19.99 or $24.99 for a lantern, theirs retail at $10.99.
Guests can pick up a headlamp as well as name-dropped apparel and souvenir plush at Howe Caverns’ gift shop.
Meyerdirk knows this means that she may have a stock of lanterns that lasts three seasons. “We were able to find a couple of shipping containers, so we have a set of two that we turned into warehouses,” she says.
The caverns are open in late March through Oct. 31, so products are stored in the warehouse containers on-site. Replenishment during the busiest month of July when about 25% of annual revenue is made is not a problem because there’s no waiting for back orders. It’s all right there and a matter of arriving before the shop opens or staying later after close to pull necessary items from storage.
As for purchasing at Howe Caverns, engaging with customers helps inform buying decisions, Radliff says. “A big part of what we do here is talking to people about their experience and listening to requests for items they’re looking for in the shop,” she says.
Kids go batty for plush.
“We have three sizes of stuffed bats that always move quickly,” says Radliff. Other favorites include water games, plush bedecked with Howe Caverns T-shirts, name-drop slinkies and books teaching basics about rocks.
“We try to find new name-drop items every year, which is great for repeat visitors because they can always find something different,” says Radliff, noting this year’s addition of a logoed boomerang.
“Helmets are always hot,” she says. Howe Caverns stocks them in a variety of colors.
Jewelry lines appeal to adults including Wheeler Jewelry, Silver Forest, Village Originals, Western Woods and GeoCentral.
Specialty foods such as maple syrup, candies and locally sourced garlic of all things make fantastic souvenirs that double as hostess gifts, Radliff points out.
Attractions add more sales
Shopping is an experience at cavern destinations, and these gift shops capitalize on family fun with a natural addition to cavern tours that extend the time customers spend on site: a gem mining activity.
Like panning for gold, guests of all ages get a kick out of sifting through a prepackaged pouch of sand-coated treasures, dumping the contents onto a screen in a water trough, and watching the silt wash away to reveal colorful, interesting gemstones.
Both Howe Caverns and Olentangy Caverns offer gem mining outside of their shops’ locations but close by so they can point to the attraction and suggest trying it out.
An expansive petting zoo — the largest in the Columbus, Ohio, area — at Olentangy Caverns gives guests a geological and zoological experience, Meyerdirk says. A mix of deer, goats, pigs, rabbits, chickens and a Zebu (the oldest form of cattle) round out a diverse herd. Meyerdirk says many of the cavern’s goats are the endangered San Clemente Island breed. “We are the only breeder in Ohio working to repopulate the species,” she says, noting that fewer than 1,700 exist worldwide.
Of course, the goats appear as plush in the gift shop alongside other stuffed versions of the species roaming the petting zoo.
Carrying these experiences back into their gift shops with souvenirs and keepsakes is key.
“Pick a few things you love about your cave and build on that,” advises Radliff. “Listen to your customers when they ask you if you have ‘this or that,’ and see if there are common requests. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box.”
