If your market stall business feels a bit beaten up or it’s not thriving the way that you want it to, then this guide is here to help. Whether you’re selling food, vintage goods, hand-made crafts, or something else, you’ll find everything you need to know in this article about succeeding and earning a better income for yourself.
Choose the right products for your market
You’ll want to start the process by choosing the right products for your market. The best way to do this is to talk to other store holders and identify a gap in what people need. Go around asking what their customers have been requesting and see if you can fill the niche by finding the right type of supplier. Look for products with broad appeal or seasonal relevance. Ensure that you include a mix of price points. For example, you might need mid-range everyday items and higher-end pieces to attract different types of customers. Also check that your inventory and stock is consistent. You’ll need a place to keep everything between market days so you don’t miss out on revenue.
Store set up and visual merchandising
The next step is to think about your stall set up and whether you’re using the right type of visual merchandising. It’s generally a good idea to set up your stall at home in advance of market day and then experiment with different looks. Once you get the visual appeal right, it will naturally attract people to your offering, and they’ll want to find out more about you. Adding eye-catching elements also helps. For example, placing best sellers at eye or waist level directs your audience on what to buy. You can also pack things like canopies, tablecloths, and sturdy tables so you have everything you need for your set up.
Check your payment systems
These days, customers want to pay electronically. They don’t necessarily have cash on them for security reasons, or they simply may not enjoy holding it. Because of this, you’ll need to research point of sale technology. This is becoming more advanced every year and allows you to accept payments via additional methods, including debit and credit cards, and sometimes crypto.
Once you have payment systems in place, customers will remember it. They want a frictionless service, so this is something that can really distinguish you from the opposition.
Build your customer engagement and sales skills
Don’t be afraid to also build your customer engagement and sales skills. This can be an excellent way to improve the presence of your market stall and get people to remember you. Most market places are very busy, and people don’t stop by for long. They may also not remember you from week to week unless you are selling something that they really need for their lifestyle.
If you can, stand or sit beside your table. Don;t stand behind it. When you do this, it makes you feel more approachable, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic. You can also share your brand story and why you set up your market stall in the first place. If you interact with customers, collect their contact details, and tell them about your social media accounts. This can be perfect for follow-up marketing to build long-term customers who are really invested in your brand and what you do. If you can promote your stall in advance of setting up in a specific area, that’s even better. Telling people where you’ll be and when is incredibly convenient for them.
Use promotions and pricing to drive sales
You could also look into using various promotions and pricing methods to drive sales. For example, you could use tiered pricing to increase the perceived value of your products. Bundling items together and offering them for less than the sum of their parts is an excellent way to tap into people’s natural desire for value. It increases the average sale amount significantly, so you can take more money from customers and hopefully gain bigger margins.
On the day, make sure that you arrive early so you can achieve a prime set up. Usually it takes around an hour to set up the average store, so ensure that you have plenty of time. If you can track metrics beyond sales, like conversions or foot traffic, then that can tell you how well you are doing week to week. You can chart your progress and see the areas in which you need to improve.
Adopt the right mindset
If you can adopt the right mindset, then that can also help your market store business thrive. For example, you might want to review performance at the end of each market day to see how well you are doing compared to the previous day. You could also look at what worked and what didn’t so you know how to improve your market store for the next day. This is standard business practice and something that every market store operator worth their salt should be exploring.
Don’t make the mistake of under-stocking or ignoring customer data collection. Try to figure out as much as you can about the people who are buying from you. Even if your business isn’t online, this is still helpful because it tells you which products you need to stock. Don’t rely solely on data about what you sell, because there could be some items that customers want that you don’t sell.
Check you have other essentials for the day
Finally, you’ll want to check that you have all of the essentials that you need for the day. Depending on what you sell, you may require:
- Flyers and QR codes that link to your online shop
- Business cards so that other people can find out what you do
Make sure you wear comfortable shoes and clothes when selling at a stall all day. If you’re outside, you might need sunscreen or an umbrella. And if you sell edible products in packaging that people are going to eat there and then, then you might need trash bags. It’s also helpful to have a first aid kit, and this might be a regulation in some markets.
