A wild adventure in the Smokies
By Kristen Hampshire

At Rainforest Adventures’ Amazon Traders Gift Shop, tying product displays to zoo exhibit encounters allows visitors to take home souvenir reminders of their experience.

Growing up, Amanda Wilson says, “I got accustomed to having strange animals in the home, you know, whether we were raising monkeys, goats, porcupines or wallabies. Having a wallaby was just so normal to me.”


When Wilson and her family traveled, they visited zoos, usually to drop off or pick up different animals. “We would play with the baby tigers and we probably just took this experience for granted,” relates the guest services manager for Rainforest Adventures in Sevierville, Tennessee.


Wilson’s parents, Bill and Jeanne Lucey, opened the zoo in 2001 and ran it for 23 years before retiring and selling to its current owners, Meg and Rob Lampert. Wilson recalls ringing up sales on the cash register as a young girl and has been purchasing for the gift shop since she was 18.


“When we opened the zoo, the gift shop was a main focus for revenue,” she says. “The animals were the attraction, and we heavily relied on gift shop sales to sustain the business.”


Guests can collect axolotl-themed merchandise at the Amazon Traders Gift Shop.

Now 25 years after the zoo’s opening, the evolving Amazon Traders Gift Shop continues to be a prominent part of the Rainforest Adventures experience, offering a variety of souvenirs and gifts, including conservation products in the fair trade and artisan categories that give back.



Enticing encounters

Attractions are aplenty in the Smoky Mountain destination where Rainforest Adventures is located, with countless attractions in the region that include Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. “The competition is just insane,” Wilson admits.


Competition is nothing new, and there are plenty of visitors to go around. For the Amazon Traders Gift Shop, the variety of nearby attractions means pricing products to sell while balancing retail’s critical role in sustaining the zoo.


“We want to keep it affordable. That plus the variety we offer are reasons why the gift shop has been so successful,” says Wilson.


She acknowledges that the shop’s clientele is “very price-based” and being mindful of this preference encourages purchases. Small impulse buys start at $4.99 and intrigue the younger set and adults who are willing to say yes to multiple items.


“We carry a lot of conservation items and we get people who come in looking for those products,” she adds. “It’s important to many of our clients to know that their purchase supports a cause.”


Several animal themes are popular at the gift shop, but above all, it’s all about the axolotls.


Matching rainforest-themed drinkware from mugs to tumblers and shot glasses are fun collectibles.

Rainforest Adventures raises axolotls — of course, they’re on display in an interactive exhibit. While there are over 30 types of salamanders in this region, the only place to see axolotls is at this destination.


You can take home one of your own because the gift shop sells its surplus.


“Once visitors view the axolotls, it’s definitely a conversation starter in the shop,” says Wilson. “We raise them here and people love to ask questions about taking care of them.”


Basic aquarium care is all that is required. For those who don’t want a live one, there is an array of merchandise to explore in the store. Overall, focusing on price point, unique attractions and carrying exhibit experiences into the gift shop helps secure steady sales.



Catchy categories

Plush is the top seller at the shop. “We have a huge wall of plush that is very colorful and kids run directly to it,” Wilson says.


The axolotls rule in theme, along with sloths and capybara (the world’s largest rodent) that sold out. The store also offers marmoset long-tailed monkey plush and gift sets.


Guests can buy and break a geode for fun at the Amazon Traders Gift Shop.

Other fast-moving categories include jewelry, gems and fossils. Popular picks include gemstone tree necklaces, gem necklaces with feature stones, chimes, agate slices, coasters and “anything rock and gem,” Wilson says. “We have a lot of rock and gem fans who come to this area. And with North Carolina hosting a really large gem and rock show every year, there’s crossover with the clientele.”


Merchandising involves moving items around and reorganizing.


“I love setting up a display and watching people purchase from the table,” says Wilson. “And how fun is it that we’re selling all things about animals? There’s always something different.”


Wilson plans on integrating more name-drop products, along with expanding product categories that align with animal encounters.


After growing up in retail and the wild, wild world of animals, Wilson says every day is an adventure. “During lunch, I can go see lobsters or look at porcupines and monkeys,” she says. “Then I get to look through catalogs of products that tie into the experiences we offer.”