Making your Market Stall Attractive and Attention-Grabbing is an essential step towards making money. Remember – you are 100% more likely to get a sale if a customer approaches your stall, so here we look at ways to grab your ideal customer’s attention and encourage them to approach you.
From Afar
Catching a customer’s eye with yours is a good first step. And then smile. Doing this breaks down any fear or barriers they may have had and if they are interested in what you are selling, they are more likely to feel encouraged to approach.
But what are you selling? Is it clear from the customer’s view-point? Is it obvious from afar or over the heads of other customers blocking the view to your stall?
Good signage is a first step. A Banner or Board explaining exactly what you do. A banner saying Jane Doe Designs may mean something to you, but to everyone else the question is Designs? What designs? What does Jane Doe design? If you are keen to use your name, a clearer option could be Jane Doe Jewellery Designer, John Smith Pottery or John Smith – Pottery Designs. The more specific, the better. If you can, let your banner tell a longer story, like “Suzi’s Cakes – a mouthful of paradise”. This way your customer, that you just smiled at, will have more information about what you are selling and if they fancy browsing jewellery or pottery or cakes, they are so much more likely to approach you, who smiled at them.
Consider using an A-board. That way you can advertise your wares from all angles. Some markets don’t allow these because of trip hazards, some won’t mind. Check this one out at Amazon, reasonable too: https://amzn.to/2VpAtHr
Height is also useful. If all your stock is laid out on a table, it will be flat and one-dimensional and once you have customers at your table, then people behind will not be able to see your wares. Using height in the form of boxes or structures to display more stock and signs adds interest and the eye will linger longer. Height is also a good way to capitalise on a smaller space. You can display more goods if you can go up as well as down. The larger your display space the better your sales tend to be – that is if you use it well. Remember to have a stock of market stall clips and bungee cords as they will always come in handy for hanging items from above.
At The Stall
Your stall needs to have your wares organised in a clear way for customers to be able to compute what they want to buy. Pricing needs to be clear and unambiguous. You may want to price individually or have one sign near a group of items. “All hats £5” or “Soap Bars – £4 each or 3 x £10”. Some ideas at this Amazon link: https://amzn.to/3fZo2t1
All Hats £5
Table coverings (cloths) are at the top of the list of items you must remember to bring when setting up your stall. If you are selling food then a wipe-clean surface is important so consider an oil-cloth covering that can be wiped down and sprayed with anti-bacterial cleaners. Think about what your stock will look like against your cloth. Is there a pattern on the cloth or a colour and does that compete with what you are selling – is your stock ‘lost’ because of your busy table covering? Would a crisp white sheet show off your wares better? Remember, that crisp white sheet won’t stay like that for long and if something is spilt on it during your trading day it may affect you and your sales! Popular table covers other than oil-cloth are hessian and linen coverings which you can buy by the metre according to the length and breadth of your table. See what you think of these Oilcloths at Amazon: 
Sneeze Guards look professional and are important if you are selling open food items. They also discourage people from touching items that you would rather they didn’t. Conversely, they are a bit of a psychological barrier, so consider the use of these wisely.
Our brains will always appreciate a short-cut so help out your customers by making everything easy to evaluate. Perhaps grouping items of the same price, having large signs with clear instructions and displaying customers’ rave reviews are some ideas!
Choose your Theme. Your display will become part of your brand so think what it says about your product. For example, younger people like the energy of bold colours whilst older people prefer more subtle palates. Similarly vivid reds and oranges encourage us to act quickly and leave (McDonalds). Softer colours appear more sophisticated and encourage us to linger longer.
Props are invaluable tools for setting the atmosphere of your stall but be aware that you will have to cart these about as well as all your stock from market to market. We have seen stalls with step ladders, old fashioned typewriters, black boards, wooden chopping boards, baskets, butter churns and weighing scales – to name just a few!
Setting up some tables at home and having a practice run with your tablecloth, props and stock is a highly recommended way to cut down your set-up time at your first market. Once you find the look that works and it tests out well, then keep with it. Your customers will recognise your ‘theme’ or stall look rather than you, the stallholder and will be able to find you based on that consistency.
Before and after. Stall theme practice run at home to get an idea of how you want it to look before going ‘live’ on a market stall.
Remember that you are in effect doing a new shop-fit every morning that you turn up at a market. Customers don’t tend to understand the hard work that goes into giving them a unique ‘market’ experience. The loading of market stuff into your car, then unloading onto your stall and then repeated in reverse at the end of the day. But the hard work pays off when you sell your wares and you count your takings at the end of the day!