Craft fair season is upon us! As local artists and craftspeople gear up to sell goods at these shows, it’s common to wonder exactly how to get noticed by shoppers in a bustling venue. Seasoned artists know they only have a few seconds to capture a shopper’s attention – to make the most of that short window, it’s important to set up a booth that encourages shoppers to stop and take a closer look at your art. Using acrylic risers, mirrored pedestals, display cases, and sign holders can help create a visually engaging display. These tools let you showcase your pieces at varying heights, highlight key items, and communicate important details to shoppers, all while keeping your booth organized and professional-looking.
Key Takeaways
- Visual merchandising best practices can help your products stand out at a craft fair while driving relevant traffic to your booth.
- Product placement is really important at a craft fair. Consider placing products at eye level, since this makes it easier for consumers to engage with your products.
- Make setting up easy for yourself by leveraging portable displays.
- Branding is crucial, especially when aiming to encourage loyal customers. Create business cards that include your social media and design your booth with a theme in mind.
- Signage and posters can be a great way to drive traffic to your booth by further showcasing deals and what you are selling.
One of the best ways to capture a shopper’s attention is to observe tactics commonly used by visual merchandisers in the retail industry. As an artist, many of the more intuitive aspects of visual merchandising, including harmonious design and color schemes, come naturally. However, an effective approach should also rely on marketing knowledge to spark interest in shoppers. Using acrylic risers to create varying heights and signage to highlight key details can provide the visual interest needed to draw shoppers in. Let’s take a closer look at how craft fair displays can be set up to boost sales at your next show.
9 Visual Merchandising Tips & Tricks for Craft Fairs
When preparing for a craft fair, there are a few visual merchandising tips to keep in mind to help guide your display efforts.
1. Easy to Pack Displays
It’s advisable to use products that can be packed away and transported, like collapsible pedestals or foldable tables. Avoid using wood and metal materials as these are unwieldy and heavy. Plastic is the favorable choice because it’s lightweight and will easily fit in your truck or trailer.
2. Place at Eye Level with Pedestals and Acrylic Risers
Putting products at the eye and waist level make it much easier for customers to see, touch, and notice your crafts. You can help elevate your products with pedestals, acrylic blocks, and acrylic risers.
3. Grouping Odd Numbers of Products on Acrylic Risers
Having an odd number of products or displays creates visual interest. This is why many displays are grouped by threes – but grouping by five or seven is acceptable, too. Using acrylic risers to help group your items will not only attract attention, but also help save space in tight quarters.
4. Repetition
To add even more visual interest, use repetition and alternation when grouping products. For example, display an orange scarf, a blue scarf, and then another orange scarf.
5. Branding is Key
Chances are, many people at the craft show you’re attending will return in the future. As your products and themes change, your brand should stay static so it may be recognized. Don’t forget to make business cards that list your social media, website, contact info, or other important information.
6. Design Around a Theme
When designing a craft fair booth, it’s important to think of a theme first. The theme should either adhere to your brand or be on-trend, then displays should be selected to support the theme. An example of a theme could be “fall activities.” To support this theme, consider purchasing a backdrop that displays colorful leaves, and use products like wooden barrels or wood veneers to emulate the appearance of a sugar house.
7. Use Signage Effectively
Signage is critical to communicate what your brand is, as well as the key benefits of your crafts. However, it’s imperative to keep messages succinct since too much messaging will fail to catch the attention of shoppers. So, spend some time brainstorming what makes your crafts truly unique. For example, if you sell lotions, are they all-natural? Do they use a special kind of oil? Do they use essential oils? These key selling points should be communicated alongside your branding.
8. Take advantage of posters
If you sell small items like trinkets or jewelry, consider using signage that uses images instead of words. Just feature a picture of your most popular, star product and display it on a large, poster-sized sign. This will help visitors notice what products are on sale at your booth without needing to get close enough to inspect the small items.
9. Mult-Level Displays with Acrylic Risers
Multileveled displays, such as acrylic risers, help tie together the composition of your booth. Place an attention-grabbing product on a higher level, with similar or complementary items on lower levels to create a sense of depth and organization. Since people’s eyes naturally follow diagonal lines, this setup encourages shoppers to explore your entire display. Overall, it creates an engaging product presentation while making the most of your available counter space.
Final Thoughts On Setting Up Craft Fairs with Acrylic Risers and Other Displays
Displays are a key piece of any eye-catching craft fair booth. Since attendants will have access to a wide range of vendors, it’s important to stand out and capture their limited attention as effectively as possible. By harnessing these design and marketing tactics, your crafts will have a better chance of being noticed by shoppers, even at the most crowded craft fairs.
If you’d like to take a closer look at displays for your next craft fair booth, take a look at our page for retail displays and fixtures. Or, if you have questions or custom requests, contact us today.