5 Fun and Practical Gifts for Store Owners

Retail Store Owners Will Love These Gift Ideas

By
Shari Waters
Full Bio

Shari Waters is a former writer for The Balance Small Business. She has more than 25 years of experience in the retail industry. 

Learn about our editorial policies
Updated on November 20, 2019

Searching for the perfect gift is always a challenge. If someone on your list owns or runs a small retail store, they'll get a kick out of one of these practical (and some not-so-practical) holiday gift ideas.

Whether it's a useful piece of office equipment they might not splurge on for themselves, or a fun zany gift guaranteed to put a smile on their face, you're searching days are over. Here are five top gifts that are either on (or should be on) every store owner's wish list. And remember not to toss this list when the holidays are over. ​Anyone of these gifts is perfect for store openings, anniversaries, and other celebrations surrounding retail outlets.

AmazonBasics Paper Shredder

Woman about to shred paper
Image Source/Getty Images

Not to be paranoid, but every business owner needs a high-quality paper shredder. Retailers deal with an abundance of paperwork and with identity theft increasingly on the rise, this gift tops the list of the most practical gift item.

When shopping for paper shredders, consider one that goes beyond paper. Models like this eight-sheet shredder from AmazonBasics can also destroy discs and credit cards. A shredder is a simple and small piece of equipment that can prove very helpful to today's store owner.

SentrySafe Fireproof Safe

A safe
Image Source/Getty Images

Right behind a shredder in practical use is the fireproof safe. Cash, documents, backup files, and other important items will stay safe and sound in one of these durable pieces. And, because of the high cost of a quality safe, chances are that your store owner has not purchased one yet.

Don't let the small size of this safe fool you. This small SentrySafe can actually fit a fair amount of things inside. It is large enough for hefty document binders and has an interior locking drawer that can hold the day's petty cash. Also, the inside of the door features various pockets and other stow-away places to hang important keys and flash drives.

Books for Small Retailers

shop owner taking with customer at cash register
Emma Innocenti/DigitalVision/Getty Images

The list of business books explaining how to start a business is almost endless. However, the number of good guides for opening and operating a retail store is much smaller.

Give the gift of a dream come true and help the entrepreneur in your life get their new business off to a good start. These are some of the top picks for books any retailer starting their own shop wants to read.

The Definition of Retailer Gifts

Businesswoman daydreaming at desk
Floresco Productions/OJO Images/Getty Images

Cute and entertaining gift items speak to every store merchant who is overworked and underpaid, which is pretty much all of them. It's guaranteed to get a laugh from your hard-working shopkeeper who won't be able to resist wearing a T-shirt next time they have to run to the store for an "emergency."

This fun and simple design can be printed on pretty much anything from coffee mugs to T-shirts to mouse pads to stickers.

Cartoon Calendar

Leather worker at laptop checking schedule in workshop
Hero Images/Getty Images

Because working with the public is never easy, operating a retail business can be very stressful. If you want to toss a little humor into a manager's stressful day try giving a humorous cartoon calendar, which doubles as a practical gift.

Despite the proliferation of smartphones that sport e-calendars, day-by-day paper desk calendars are still a great addition to an office. Be sure to put some thought into choosing the right kind of humor, which can include cute and cuddly, satirical, political, high-brow or low-brow. If you know the person's taste, there are many options to choose from on this list, so you're bound to find the perfect fit.