Looking to take home a spring break souvenir? Here are top sellers at Myrtle Beach stores
You spent months planning your beach vacation. Now that it’s over, you’ll want a way to remember it.
Sure, you’ve got all those photos. But any vacationer knows that you can’t leave without some type of souvenir, whether you’re going to wear it or place it proudly on your office desk as a reminder of those days lounging by the ocean.
The Grand Strand has plenty of souvenir shops - many of them are just a short distance from each other. And what people are buying to take back home with them is as varied as what the stores have to offer.
Here are some of the top sellers.
Finding your name
Among the many things at the Gay Dolphin Gift Cove, 916 N. Ocean Blvd., visitors can find a wall of names.
These name tags are the No. 1 selling item in the store every year, said Michelle Plyler, owner of the gift store along with her husband, Buz.
They’re so popular in fact that the tags are special ordered and updated every year when the Social Security Administration releases its list of top names each year. There are 3,000 names on the wall, Plyler said.
“It’s a lot of work, but people get excited to see their names,” she said.
The Gay Dolphin has been a staple along Ocean Boulevard for 77 years. With four stories and nine levels, the store offers a little something for everyone - even if those people were left at home.
“They have to take things home to people who are watching their dogs, or their neighbors,” Plyler said.
All I got was this T-shirt
Eagles Beachwear, which also includes Bargain Beachwear, boasts a number of stores in the Myrtle Beach area.
Among its top beach souvenirs is adult Myrtle Beach T-shirts, followed by Myrtle Beach key chains, according to Jill Collins with Eagles Beachwear.
T-shirts with Myrtle Beach themes is also a top seller at the Gay Dolphin.
Finding the perfect seashell
Yeah, you can find seashells along the beach, but there isn’t a great variety like you can find at the Gay Dolphin. It’s one of their most popular items.
Plyler said it’s one of the few places where you can buy real shells and corral.
Saltwater taffy
A favorite sweet treat at the beach is saltwater taffy. It’s also one of the big sellers at Eagles Beachwear stores, according to Collins.
The 7-ounce box of the taffy is the top seller across all the stores.
But shopping for souvenirs doesn’t seem to stop while people are on vacation. People seem to also buy them even when they are home, shopping for the beach-themed items online, Collins said.
