The Spirit Of Holiday Markets: Customer Relationships, Ethical Standards And Sales

‘Tis the season for holiday markets and pop-up events galore.

Whether its OM For The Holidays in Cleveland, Unique L.A., SF Made and Women X Made in San Francisco or Lightfoot Market and Union Square Holiday Market in New York, beauty brands are confronting a barrage of possible avenues to sell their merchandise to Christmas and Chanukah gift shoppers. These markets, of course, offer opportunities for sales, but they’re increasingly coveted for exposure, networking, community relationship building and ethical alignment reasons as well.

At Lightfoot Market, which runs from Dec. 9 to 10 at The Metropolitan Suite, transparency and sustainability are core principals. The event encourages conscious consumerism over an intensely commercial period. About 70 vendors will participate, and they’ve all been vetted to make sure they didn’t rely on sweatshops or low-wage workers, and proffer non-toxic, cruelty-free and conflict-free products. At the market, attendees can view icons indicating if brands’ items are organic, fair trade, produced locally and more.

“I hope that Lightfoot Market drives industry change,” says Sarah Sproviero, co-founder of Lightfood Market, adding, “People are really looking for shopping experiences that are unique and fun. A lot of craft markets have values that we care about. Some of them have handmade goods or support local businesses, and those two things are great, but our experience going to these markets is that, if these businesses don’t really know what their materials are or who they are supporting, and they don’t have any kind of motivation to be innovative or sustainable, then that’s not what we want the standard to look like.”

Matthew Stillman, founder of the skincare brand Primal Derma, linked with Lightfoot Market because its philosophy reflects his. “So many markets are just driving ‘new’ or ‘eco,’ but Lightfoot really has a deep ethic that we resounded with. We want to be associated with a market that is driven to share products that are also making meaning,” he says. “Primal Derma is excited to enter a space shared with other companies with similar values, and pray that retailers and consumers support this level of responsibility and decide as a group to start putting these companies and their stories [upfront] as a way to draw customers in.”

Roxy Finamore, founder of FreeBird Organics, has opted to take part in the Asbury Park Bazaar in Asbury Park, N.J., mostly to forge relationships with customers. “The communication and making those personal experiences with my customers or people who are unfamiliar with my stuff, that’s really the thing that drives me. I meet so many new people,” says Finamore, elaborating, “People really wanted to know about the making of [the products]. What goes into it, what it’s used for.” Retailers have dropped by, too. Finamore landed an Asbury Park boutique as a result of her presence at the market in the summer. She notes that a small-business Saturday pop-up “helped me grow in the communities in my area that really want to support local businesses.”

Primal Derma

Nadine Artemis, founder of Living Libations, a longtime vendor at holiday markets, including The Fullest’s first annual in Laguna Beach on Dec. 17, divulges that markets typically charge brands $100 to $1,000 to present their wares on a flat fee or percentage of sales basis. Tables at Lightfoot Market are priced at $370 to $550 for the holiday event. “We are trying to remain accessible to small businesses,” explains Sproviero. “Many of these brands are just starting up. We want to give them a leg up. We don’t want to take advantage of them.”

Artemis suggests bringing two people to man booths at holiday markets, and Living Libations occasionally totes along four or five. Before heading to a market, she recommends brands write checklists of everything, including a table cloth and personal internet hotspot, their setups require. Specifically talking about table cloths, Artemis says, “What’s provided is not going to be suitable for your brand. It won’t be the right look or color. Also, you want something that hangs over the table because there’s usually a chaos of boxes underneath.”

Finamore advises brands to think carefully about the amount of merchandise they might sell. Typically, FreeBird Organics generates $800 to $1,000 in revenues per day at a market. “The scariest thing when you attempt a holiday market: It’s how much product do you bring. Do you have enough with you? You don’t want to bring too much so you’re taking too much home. There’s a lot of figuring out and guessing,” she says, continuing, “The more you can organize yourself in advance, the more you anticipate what you might do [in sales], the more prepared you are. You don’t ever want to sell out of something. Once you’ve [assembled your display], take a picture of it, it makes it easier going into your pop-ups.”

FreeBird Organics

Artemis reports the return on investment for Living Libations’ participation in holiday markets has been beneficial. The upcoming holiday event will be Lightfoot Market’s first during the strong gifting season, so it’s unclear how productive the market will be for brands. However, Sproviero mentions Lightfoot Market conducted a survey after its April shopping event, and vendors were largely positive about it. “Many vendors did respond that financially it was a great day,” she says. “The brands who said that they didn’t make as many sales as they hoped still felt like it was worth it, and they reapplied. Many of the consumers are their target consumers.”

Living Libations has acquired perennial customers that originally encountered the brand at a shopping fair. “We are always getting, ‘Oh, I met you at the market, and I’ve been a fan ever since,’” says Artemis. “Surprisingly, some people are still a little shy about internet shopping or they want to feel it, touch it, smell it first and, then, they’re fine buying it over the internet.”

TAKEAWAYS

  • Holiday markets are multiplying as are the reasons brands sign up for them. Obviously, vendors want sales, but they’re also interested in customer and community bonding, exposure, and reaching out to likeminded shoppers and companies.
  • Spots at holiday markets typically are priced from $100 to $1,000 on a flat-fee or percentage of sales basis.
  • Vendors with experience at holiday markets advise brands to bring at least two people to them, create a checklist of essential equipment prior to the markets, and try to pin down a good estimate of the amount of products that will get sold.
  • Vendors largely report that holiday markets have been lucrative investments for them, and they’ve netted long-term customers as well as landed retailers as a result of their participation.