As with other retail businesses, hospital gift shops are moving beyond just physical stores where visitors shop. Many hospitals now want to make shopping available to virtual visitors who want to send gifts to patients but who will not be on campus to shop in the physical gift shop. This expands a hospital gift shop’s ability to serve while boosting its bottom line. That's why online ordering has become popular for modern hospital gift shops. When gift shops add online shopping options, they can reach more people, sell more products, and improve the hospital experience.

What Today's Hospital Visitors Want

People today expect to order almost anything online, and getting gifts for hospital patients is no exception. A good online shop for hospital gifts offers:

Shopping from Anywhere: Not everyone can visit the hospital in person. Maybe they live out of town, can't get time off work, or have health issues that keep them home. Online ordering lets these people still send flowers, gifts, or comfort items to patients they care about.

Shopping at Any Time: Physical gift shops close, but websites don't. Online ordering works at midnight just as well as at noon. Allows virtual customers to shop at a time that is convenient for them, knowing the item will be delivered directly to the patient.

Seeing All Available Products: In-store shoppers might rush through and miss half the items. Online shops show everything available with photos and descriptions. This helps people find exactly what they're looking for: a specific snack, a soft blanket, or a particular type of greeting card.

Online ordering for the Boston Children's Hospital gift shop

A customer browses items available for patient delivery at Boston Children's Hospital.

How Online Ordering Helps Hospital Gift Shops Run Better

Besides making customers happy, online ordering brings several practical benefits:

More Sales, More Money: Online ordering opens the door to more customers and easier shopping. Hospitals implementing this option normally see immediate sales increases. A well-structured online store also offers add-on suggestions to online shoppers, which leads to higher average ticket values for online transactions versus in-store.

Better Stock Control: Online ordering shows what's available in real time when properly connected to inventory management systems. This helps operators gather critical analytics of consumer behaviors.

Less Crowding in the Store: Online ordering spreads out when people shop instead of creating rush hours. This means shorter lines, less congestion, and a calmer shopping experience for those who visit in person.

Expanded Shopping for Hospital Employees: Third shift workers, who are not typically at work during regular gift shop operating hours, can make gift shop purchases when the gift shop is closed. Purchases can be picked up on the way in or out of work (at gift shop opening or closing) or can be delivered to the specific employee’s department for pick-up when the employee arrives to work.

Making Hospital Stays a Little Better

Hospitals can be stressful places. Online gift ordering helps ease this stress in several ways. When someone wants to send a gift to a patient, they don't have to hunt for parking, find the gift shop, or work around visiting hours. A few clicks from home or work, their gift is coming. Online shops can also offer personal touches like custom greeting cards,  ready-made gift sets for specific situations, like "new baby" bundles or care packages for extended stays, and declining balance gift shop cards the patient can use to purchase additional items as needed. And online ordering doesn’t only benefit third-shift employees. Doctors, nurses, and other team members don’t always have time to browse the gift shop. Online ordering lets them quickly buy essentials or send gifts to coworkers without leaving their departments, particularly during busy periods or emergencies.

Flowers and gifts getting delivered to a hospital patient

What to Think About Before Starting

Adding online ordering to a hospital gift shop requires advanced planning. The online shop must work well for everyone, from young adults to older grandparents who rarely use computers. Easy-to-use customer experience is the key to success, so clear pictures, simple menus, and straightforward checkout are essential for online hospital gift shopping. For best results, online shops must connect with the gift shop’s existing inventory management system – and that system must be used properly to ensure accurate on-hand inventory data.  Operators may need to adjust schedules to cover delivery times and ensure staff are comfortable with the new processes. Delivering gifts to patients is a favorite task of many hospital volunteers and partnering with the hospital Director of Volunteer Services can be a helpful piece of the online order delivery process.

Partner With Experts at Cloverkey

Setting up online ordering takes retail know-how that most hospital administrators don't have time to develop and IT resources that are better-focused on hospital business. That's why many turn to companies like Cloverkey for help. We can set up and run online ordering that works smoothly with current operations because we know hospital retail inside and out. With our help, hospitals can offer modern shopping options without creating more work for already busy administrative staff. Not only do we offer a robust companion online shop for all our physical gift shops, we can also set up online hospital brand shops. These allow hospital employees to purchase items online for delivery directly to their homes or offices.
Online ordering for hospital gift shops makes life easier for patients, visitors, and staff while boosting sales. As more people expect digital options everywhere they go, smart hospitals are adding online ordering to turn their gift shops into more helpful, profitable operations. Want to learn how Cloverkey can help your hospital add online ordering to your gift shop? Contact Cloverkey today.