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An increased interest in healthier foods and an interest in supporting locally grown and handcrafted merchandise has helped the farmers market industry grow. There are currently more than 8,000 farmers markets operate in the US today, according to the most recent National Farmers Market Manager Survey. What’s interesting to note is that while there was growth in the last few decades, there has been some contraction in the last few years. Mostly from too many markets but not enough vendors. So, what we now have are larger, more robust markets surviving. That means more competition between vendors to attract market shoppers.
Whether your business is a small farm or a cottage industry, you’ll need strategies to set you apart from the competition. From engaging signage to clever layout tips, this post will offer vendors 20 actionable strategies to increase sales at farmers markets. We’ll cover everything from upselling techniques to bundling offers, how to design attractive product groupings, and of course, how to use shopPOPdisplays’ versatile solutions for maximum impact.
Strategies to Sell More at a Farmers Market
The secret to selling more at a farmers market? Your booth. Fresh produce, meat and dairy, handcrafted goods, delicious treats, fragrant flowers…whatever you sell, you need to market it like a pro. Farmers market displays play a big role in boosting sales. An inviting booth attracts customers; well-organized displays make it easy for them to browse; and an easy-to-navigate layout add up to a pleasant shopping experience.
By focusing on your booth, you’ll attract loyal customers, build brand awareness, and create relationships with customers while getting direct, in-person feedback. All of which will help optimize sales. The types of displays you use also go a long way to selling success on market day. Setting up intentional displays increase the perceived value of your products, and thus, increase sales.
Try a few of these farmers market ideas to make your booth stand out and create a memorable experience that welcomes new customers and keeps loyal ones coming back.
20 Proven Ways to Sell More at Farmers Markets
1. Be Strategic with Your Farmers Market Setup
Depending on location, you’ll likely have to set up and take down your own booth. Balance functionality with visual appeal by using displays that are easy to transport and even easier to set up (the faster you set up, the faster you start selling). Get your booth up quickly with foldable or collapsible tables, collapsible pedestals, and flat-pack displays. The Woodland Park Collection from shopPOPdisplays has a variety of displays that travel well, and their wood finish fits in perfectly at the farmers market. They can be customized with your name or logo and since they are lightweight can be moved around your booth to fit your needs.
2. Put Your Produce on a Pedestal (figuratively and literally)
Products arranged at eye and waist level are easy for customers to see. Showcase your bounty by using easy-traveling displays, such as collapsible pedestals and tiered wire rack displays to help elevate products to eye level. A portable wooden 4-shelf A frame display is a visually interesting way to present handcrafted items on multiple tiers and height.
3. Brand Yourself (and your booth)
Display clear, professional signage with your business name. You can vary the signage but keep the branding consistent. In addition to signage, farmers market display ideas that can be customized with your name, logo, and brand colors include table covers, banners, flags, backdrops, pop-up tents, and wooden displays, such as crates and carts, as well as every flat-pack display in shopPOPdisplays’ Woodland Park Collection.
4. Keep Your Farmers Market Booth Fully Stocked
Customers gravitate toward tidy, fully stocked tables vs picked-over piles. Start by displaying items in a variety of bins and baskets. This creates visual interest and draws customers to your booth. Keep extra products in containers hidden underneath the tables. This trick also allows you to consolidate and move items closer together as you sell products throughout the day since you already have the smaller bins and baskets to downsize into.
5. Follow the Rule of Three
A favorite trick from visual merchandisers is to group items in three (or five or seven). Odd number groupings create visual harmony and capture interest that draws people in. That applies to individual groupings and tiers/shelves in a display.
6. Play With Your Food
Try a repetitive pattern to stir up visual interest. Arrange berries or produce by alternating colors (ie, blueberries, strawberries, blueberries, strawberries) or mix up the fruit in each row to create a pleasing display that will be irresistible to shoppers.
7. Set the Farmers Market Scene
You’re at a farmers market, so there’s bound to be baskets, crates, red-and-white checkered tablecloths, chalkboards, etc., but you can still create a unique theme for your booth. For instance, if your primary product is honey, create some buzz with a beautiful booth inspired by bees. Suspend a beekeeper’s hat from the top of the booth, set up an observation hive, and have honey sticks for the kids on hand. Cut a freshly baked baguette (it will smell delicious and inviting) and invite shoppers to sample some local raw honey served on a wooden cutting board.
8. Serve up Pre-portioned fare.
Do farmers market math and place produce in individual containers. Nobody wants to try to figure out what one lb. of strawberries looks like. Pre-weigh your produce, place in baskets, and price. The neatly organized display will provide an instant visual of how much they get for their money. (Plus, clearly marked items are more likely to sell.) Once you make a sale, place the contents of the baskets in a paper bag for the shopper and refill and reuse the basket to keep your table display full.
9. Bundle Deals
Increase your sales volume by offering discounts for purchasing multiples of your product. Create different packaging bundles that encourage customers to buy more for a price discount. Retailers use this tried-and-true technique to tap into a buy more, save more mentality in consumers. You can also make meal-planning kits with pre-portioned ingredients and recipes for customers to make at home on a busy weeknight. Or sell DIY kits with instructions, such as miniature herb gardens or candle and soap-making kits.
10. Let Pictures Tell Your Story
Display posters of the farm where your fruit and vegetables (or flowers) are grown to help create a connection with your product. Another way to use pictures is to create colorful signage with images of your crops instead of text to let the public know what you are selling. Placed high above your table people will be able to see it from a distance or in a crowd.
11. Stack produce in a pyramid
The display is not only striking, it saves space and provides an interesting twist to the rows of bins typically displayed on horizontal surfaces of booth tables. The towering arrangements can be seen from a distance and draw customers to your booth. People’s eyes will naturally be drawn to the top of the pyramid shape then follow the line down to the table to peruse additional offerings.
12. Promote the market even when it’s closed
A sign pointing the way to the market on a Saturday morning is a way to welcome guests and point them in the right direction to the market’s entrance. A sign that tells passersby midweek that a farmers market takes place in that space on the weekend will entice them to return to buy some fresh produce.
13. Elevate Impulse Farmers Market Buys with Risers
Fresh produce is a must-buy on market day. Candy apples and other delicacies? Not so much, but who can resist a lineup of sweet treats? To create an appetizing display, place unexpected products on risers amidst the colorful fruit baskets and watch customers grab them up. Another perfect place for impulse buys is near your checkout area. Bags of cookies, dried fruit, fresh-squeezed juices, etc. are sure to grab attention and sell out quickly.
14. Use Your Signage to Educate Farmers Market Shoppers
Signage serves multiple purposes. Signage communicates your brand, but it also helps you share the benefits or key information of the products you are selling. For instance, an array of mushrooms already makes for a beautiful display. But to really sell them to try something new, include signs that list their flavor profile or best recipe use.
15. Celebrate each season
Sure, your produce is in season, but other perishables and nonperishables you sell can provide a nod to the time of year. This is especially important if your farmers market is open year-round. Sell cookies decorated with seasonal themes, such as beach balls in the summer, the American flag for the patriotic holidays, and fall leaves in the autumn months. If you sell beverages, drinks like lemonade in the summer, cider in the fall, hot cocoa in the winter will bring people to your booth. Another idea is to use your produce as décor that inspires your customers to do the same. A trio of pumpkins may inspire a customer to buy pumpkins from you to decorate their front porch in the same way.
16. Engage customers with free samples
Find easy ways to interact with customers like offering free samples or doing a cooking demonstration with a take-home printed recipe card. Curious (and hungry) customers will be drawn to your booth for the sample. You can take the opportunity to talk to people who stop by, get immediate feedback on your product, and potentially make a sale. Farmers market attendees are also keen on learning while they shop. A demo of a simple recipe or craft will also help draw people to your booth and spark conversations. Printed recipe cards can be displayed on the counter near the ingredients.
17. Get creative with sign placement
Nestle smaller chalkboard placards on top of produce. The black signs against colorful produce is a striking display that will get noticed. Cabbage, red peppers, corn, tomatoes, gourds, oranges…it works with any large fruit or vegetable.
18. Hang a shingle away from your booth
If allowed, place a freestanding sign in the market’s thoroughfare to attract shoppers to your booth. A simple chalkboard sign, such as our wooden floor standing easel can help advertise your daily specials as well as your specialties for those who are not familiar with your booth.
19. Make sure your products are clearly labeled
On a busy market day, customers may not stick around to ask questions so make sure you provide as much information as possible on labels. Then arrange cans and jars with their labels facing outward toward the customer. This way, they can easily see what the product is, and how much it is. Just like signage, the more information you can provide, the better. That includes ingredients, price, expiration date, or bottling date.
20. Use lighting to convey a warm, happy feeling
One benefit of shopping at a farmers market is that the stands are usually outdoors. Being exposed to sunlight triggers the release in serotonin, the happy hormone. While artificial lighting is not the same, a well-lit booth will still invoke a lighter, brighter mood. If your booth is indoors—and even if it’s outdoors—amp up the lighting by hanging string lights or lanterns to create a welcoming booth.
We hope these ideas freshen up your farmers market booth and set it up for success. For more ideas, check out shopPOPdisplays’ Woodland Park Collection and other displays that will work for your farmers market booth all season long.