Founder Melissa Wilkinson is speaking at the Online Retailer Conference & Expo at the Sydney ICC on ‘Evolving your ecommerce platform: a journey of search marketing and tech integration’ on Wednesday 24 July 2024.Â
Tell us more about Personalised Favours and its concept?
I founded Personalised Favours over 10 years ago. While planning my wedding, I struggled to find unique wedding favours locally, especially since many of our guests were coming from overseas. This inspired me to start an eBay store selling personalised wedding favours and it quickly became a success. Recognising a gap in the wedding market, I decided to take the business seriously and launched my own online store.
Our key differentiator is personalisation. We offer over 2,000 products, each personalised through laser engraving, embroidery or UV printing. From the beginning, we knew we couldn’t compete with the big players on price alone. We needed to offer something unique that couldn’t be easily replicated. Personalisation requires significant skill and expensive machinery—starting prices for laser engravers are around $35,000. Our goal is to provide only ‘wow’ products that stand out.
Have you noticed any trends in gifting that stand out this year including Father’s Day?
The cost of living is a significant issue affecting our customer base. People still want to give meaningful gifts, but budgets are tighter. We’ve adapted our range to offer products at various price points. While we continue to offer premium, ‘wow’ gifts, we also provide more affordable personalised options that fit different budgets.
Engraved glassware such as beer mugs, scotch glasses and decanter sets are always popular for dads. We’re also seeing a trend towards more lifestyle products like personalised travel mugs, eskies, water bottles, protein shakers and gym towels.
What is next for Personalised Favours?
We’re aiming for the moon. This year, we’ve streamlined operations and reinvested in software to improve production efficiency and delivery times. We’ve also invested in SEO, changed our advertising management and upgraded our website to Shopify Plus. Each year we continue geographic expansion and we’re planning to launch a pet range including personalised collars, clothing and bedding. We’re also focusing more on our people by introducing mental health programs, education opportunities and more team bonding days.
Read the complete article in our Father’s Day feature in the July Directory 2024 edition. Pick up your FREE printed copy from Reed Gift Fairs Melbourne (Hot 100 stand), AGHA Melbourne Gift Fair (stand BP2) and at Life Instyle.
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