Holiday Craze: Prepping for a Winter Holiday Market

Holiday markets are a different beast from markets at other times of the year for one massive reason: presents. These markets are full of people wanting to buy presents for friends and families, which creates an entirely different atmosphere and demographic that you need to accommodate.

Planning to Pay

Let's explore the difference in atmosphere first. When people attend a craft fair in the fall or a farmers market in spring, they typically don't intend to purchase plushies or presents. They browse, get ideas for gifts, and maybe buy a small thing for themselves. Focusing on small, attractive items is key when creating products for those markets. You need to convince your customers to buy, not browse, whether through interactive methods like claw machines or mystery boxes, or cheaper, practical items like keychains or decor.

But holiday markets are different. People go to them intending to pay. They go with a list of people they need to buy presents, cash ready to go, and ideas in mind. Therefore, the goal of the vendor isn't to convince people to buy, it's to convince people to buy from you. What about your booth and products that will convince people to purchase from your stall rather than others? How do you stand out, and appeal to the present buying crowds?

Knowing Your Demographic

This is where knowing your demographic and the people who attend the holiday market is critical. For a crocheter attending a market in a small town full of families, you'll want to focus on stocking stuffers, gifts for teens to give to friends, and baby-safe items. But if you are in an area with an older crowd rather than families, you should focus on winter clothes, practical items, and decor. One of the easiest ways of figuring out what you should focus on is to google gift idea lists for people in the local demographic groups. Your customers likely are looking at those same lists so making sure you match them is a sure-fire way to get sales.

You'll also want to look at the socioeconomic demographics. While this is critical for all markets, it's especially important for holiday markets. There is plenty of research out there on how much people spend on presents, what they spend it on, who they spend it on, etc, based on age, income, and location. I highly suggest delving into this research.

As an example, my winter market is in a small Northeast town populated with families and elderly people. According to my research, the Northeast spends the most on presents compared to other USA regions. Baby boomers prefer traditional presents, but millennials prefer personalized items. The area of my market has a low unemployment rate, meaning people are more comfortable spending more on presents. Data shows that most people buy their presents early, typically around Black Friday, so for a mid-December market, I should expect people to buy smaller presents and stocking stuffers rather than big gifts.

Winter Market Planning

We know our market, now what does that mean for our prep? Well, it means you need to match that market, of course! Using my winter market as an example, I should focus my attention on smaller items that will appeal to families buying stocking stuffers and young adults buying presents for friends. Items that offer personalization will be ideal for the millennials, and since I'm targeting families, plushies based on popular kids' characters like Bluey or Winnie the Pooh will appeal to parents buying presents. Baby-safe items are an absolute must, and unique items like magnetic friendship keychains will help distinguish me from the other crocheters at the market. Bigger items may or may not sell, but stuff like personalization options, gift wrap options, and more can make them more attractive to buyers. Unlike other markets where I spend weeks making mystery boxes, I'm not going to make any mystery items. People aren't buying for themselves at these markets, and they'll want to know exactly what they are buying to ensure their gift is well received.

I hope by now it's clear how planning for a holiday market is different from a normal market. When people are buying for others, you need to add in a whole new layer of demographics to target, as you need to consider both the gift buyer and the people they are buying for. Is your population mostly elderly grandparents wanting to spoil their grandkids? Is it mostly college kids looking for small gifts for friends and themselves? Is your market in an area with high family incomes where items like plushies and decor items can sell well, or are there a lot of low-income families that will be more apt to spend money on practical gifts like clothes? What you make, how much you make, and how you advertise it will all be impacted by the different atmosphere of a holiday market, and if you don't make adjustments for that, you will miss out on a lot of sales.

Top Five Tips to a Successful Holiday Market

We know why we need to change our planning, but how do we actually do that? Here are my top five tips as a crochet plushie maker for succeeding in a holiday market setting, keeping in mind the demographic research we just discussed

1 Avoid Characters

Yes, yes, I know I just mentioned characters appealing to parents, and that is true, but overall, staying away from characters is going to be better. Universally known characters like Winnie the Pooh or Stitch may be okay, but many family members might be hesitant to buy them if they are not certain the person they are buying for likes that character. So avoiding things like anime characters, pokemon, niche media, etc is best. You should seriously consider if you want to spend time making characters from kids' media, because while the parents likely know their kid likes that media (they are the ones who put it on for them), most parents will buy official merch online instead of from small business markets. Also, there's the whole liability, and copyright worry. Generally speaking, I recommend staying clear of characters at holiday markets, even if you tend to do well with them at cons or other themed events.

2 Multiple Item Discounts Will Be Your Friend

If you have siblings, then you are probably familiar with parents buying the same or similar presents for all siblings to limit fighting, especially with younger kids. So offering discounts if you buy multiple of the same item will appeal to parents, as well as to younger people trying to buy presents for friend groups. I love doing this with small stocking stuffer items, like frogs or bees, and it's yet to steer me wrong

3 Offer Gift Wrapping

Especially if you offer unusually shaped or bulky items, offer gift wrapping. Buying gift wrap is expensive and time-consuming, and until an item is wrapped, parents run the risk of a spoiled surprise. Offering on-site gift wrapping for a small fee will appeal to those shopping with the person they will be gifting the item to and anyone looking for convenience. If you have something large, weirdly shaped, or fragile, wrapping it for your customers will make them more apt to purchase as they won't need to worry about breaking or struggling to find appropriately sized bags.

4 Include Lots of Multi-functional Items

What do I mean by multi-functional items? Well, think about friendship keychains, fidget plushies, plushies that appeal to the seasonal vibes but don't need to be put away when the holiday is over (think penguins, polar bears, and seals rather than Santas and elves), functional items like car hangers or cup warmers, and anything else that can be used in more than one way. Generational gift-buying research shows that most generations prefer practical items. Whether it's Gen Z preferring technology and experience presents or Gen X preferring useful items over decor or trinkets, there is a clear trend towards the cute and functional. If something can be used in more ways than one, it will sell better, so explore your options.

5 Gift Sets Galore

Like with the gift-wrapping tip, people love buying gift sets around the holidays. Offer a kid's book with a matching plush, a weighted plush with essential oils, or cat treats and a catnip toy, and the appeal of that item will go up immensely. Bonus points if you offer it in a beautiful basket or box. Sets make a gift feel more complete than a single item, and if you package it pretty it makes things easier for your probably very stressed customers. If a customer has the option to spend a little bit more and not have to worry about anything else for that person's gift, believe me, they will do it. Just make sure to keep things below $30 to $40, as gift sets often are purchased for extended family and friends, and people tend to spend less on those gifts than on ones for immediate family.

In Other Words...

The best way to succeed at a winter market is to understand who is buying, who they are buying for, and what the people they are buying for will like. Recognize that your customers are likely stressed out from the amount of money they've spent and all the things they have to do and make your products appeal to their need for ease. Make universally appealing products, that can be used year round and in multiple ways, and you're sure to pull in the customers. You've got this.