If you’re a stallholder, you’re bound to be selling at Christmas Markets this year. Markets are a marketing activity as much as anything else – so we have pinned down 5 ways to make the most of it!
How can selling at Christmas Markets help all year round?
The Christmas season brings the biggest sales of the year for most businesses. But markets aren’t just for sales – they’re a marketing activity as much an anything else! We’re talking about getting people to remember your brand in future, giving out business cards, getting you seen in-person as well as online – because your brand isn’t just for Christmas, it’s for life!
Christmas Markets are often expensive to join as a stallholder, so it’s vital to both bring in the revenue and reap the rewards of your efforts in future too. We know you don’t want to bombard you’re customers, or make them sick of hearing the ‘C’ word, so here are 5 ways to make the most of selling at Christmas Markets, in the best way!
5 ways to make the most of selling at Christmas Markets
1. Make sure you’re visible online
This is vital if you want to make sales and get good footfall if you’re selling at Christmas Markets – you need to tell people where you’ll be, in advance, so they don’t miss out – and you don’t miss out on their custom!
Here are some ways to be more visible online and show potential customers where they can shop from you:
- Check into the event on Pedddle.
Click here to view our market timeline. Pedddle stallholder members can check in to these events (and add their own!), so you can see exactly where they’re selling. This helps increase online visibility as well as increasing brand awareness, building trust from your potential customers and showing them where they can find you.
A screen shot taken from Urmston Artisan Market of some stallholders checked in for the next event.
- Utilise Social Media
It’s not just about posting and hoping for the best. It’s making sure your posts contain all the info people will need – the event address, times, postcode and even where they can find your stand, if you know in advance.
We recommend tagging people (event organisers, fellow stallholders and @PedddleUK), but please do so with some level of judgement. Tagging once or twice is fine, but more than that could be seen as annoying! Don’t bombard, but give others something to share for further exposure on socials.
Here are some tips per platform.
Facebook tips:
– Write your own event posts with a beautiful eye catching image. Did you know that videos actually seem to perform better on Facebook now? Post a video of your products, or a previous market day if you’ve attended it before. Tag event/market organisers and friends or fellow stallholders that are selling there, they might share your post too!
– Share the organisers’ event to your Facebook Business account (don’t create your own event – it’s more work, less successful, and won’t be seen as much, but definitely share theirs or link to the Pedddle event listing if it’s listed with us).
– Share the event to your timeline on your Facebook Business account. Add a really quick, brief caption about the event and where people can find you if you know the position of your stall.
– Comment on the organisers’ event page to say you will be there, so people visiting that page can see your business name. Something as simple as “I am really looking forward to attending this event with my business” works.
– Comment on any posts that the organiser puts out about the event – you could share them to your Stories too.
Instagram tips:
– Make sure you tag organisers when posting about the event. Pop it in your Stories and tag them, then they might share your Story too.
– Comment on the organisers’ posts.
– See which stallholders are there and like / comment on their posts too.
X/Twitter:
Same thing – comment, like, tag and share!
- Think of other ways to be seen online – like an online market. The Christmas Gift Event lets you list a gift item to sell at an online market, during the busiest sales season of the year! A great way to get in front of a new audience – click here for info.
- Write a blog
Write a blog on your website with a list of the Christmas markets that you’re selling at. Make sure you link to the organisers’ website(s). This creates a back link and will boost your SEO too – click here to find out how to write a great blog. You could also link to both your Pedddle page and the organisers’ event page – we have good SEO so again this will help boost your online presence. Click here to find out more about SEO, what it can do for you and how to improve it.
2. Offer a range of products and consider ‘Secret Santa’ gifts
Make it easy for people to buy your products. Consider price ranges – do you have gifts under £20? Under £10? Under £5 even? Give customers options.
Not everyone’s business will suit this ‘Secret Santa’ style – but if not, do you have a Best Seller or an attention-grabbing product that would make a great gift? Does it have a niche, for example gifts for grandparents, parents, that hard-to-buy-for uncle?
Grab your customer’s attention when you’re selling at Christmas Markets and make it clear to them why they should buy your product or who for.
3. Offer an alternative angle or a gift wrapping service whenever you’re selling at Christmas Markets
Make it easy for your customers. An alternative angle can draw people in to your stand at a market, such as live drawing or personalisation – think outside the box with your products!
Gift wrapping is just another chore for many of us, so give customers an option to have it all done for them! This can take up time at a market though, so think about how you could do this if your market is busier – a fancy bag? Special extras to make the parcel look nice? What about offering a service where people write their own tag or stamp a tag? The possibilities are endless.
One tip to save time at a market is to have your stall set out but keep one of everything back (perhaps under the table), then when you make a sale, give the customer a ready-wrapped version from under the table. Depending on your type of stock and space given you may not be able to do this, but it’s worth considering.
4. Collect email addresses – with some ideas for extra marketing
Use your markets as an opportunity to collect email addresses for your mailing list. Email marketing is a great tool because unlike social media, it’s not subject to an algorithm, and what you send out lands straight in your mailing list’s inbox.
You could even make it a competition whilst you’re selling at Christmas Markets, i.e. offer free shipping if they sign up to your mailing list and newsletter, or saying they’ll be entered into a prize draw in return for their email address.
You could leave an iPad or phone out and allow passers by to submit their email, but you may not want to leave expensive technology on the table. You could leave a clip board out for people to write their email addresses, or use a secure box they can drop a piece of paper into.
Be aware of GDPR – you’ll need a tick box to confirm they have read the information about how their email address will be used and how you’ll contact them. Keep/archive this information as per current GDPR regulations.
5. Don’t get cold!
This might seem obvious, but when you are stood outside in the freezing cold all day selling at Christmas Markets, you can function badly and make mistakes. It’s so important to stay warm so you perform at your best! Read our blog for some tips on staying warm at an outdoor market.
It might be a good idea to wear fingerless gloves so you can still work card readers, and have your money strapped to you in the form of a bum bag (they’re trending right now so you will be totally cool!). Having some form of flooring (even a piece of cardboard) underneath you to stand on is also important in keeping your feet warm!
How can I learn from previous market selling experiences?
Selling at Christmas Markets is hard and there are a lot of variables that can affect performance on the day. However, if you haven’t done as well as expected, don’t worry – every experience is a learning curve. Ask yourself:
- Did I utilise social media frequently and clearly enough? Did my audience know exactly where I would be?
- Did I send an email newsletter to remind my audience?
- Did I engage with customers in the right way at the market – being welcoming and friendly, saying hello, initiating conversation, sharing stories of your products and their history, and showing them that you love what you do?
- How simple and effective was your stall layout? Was the stall too crowded? Could prices and offers have been clearer?
- How easy are you to find online after the event? Did you have business cards or hand out your contact details? Do you have a strong digital presence?
- We’re you well prepared enough? Feeling disorganised often puts us off – click here for some market checklists to help you prepare better next time.
If you did all of these things then don’t worry – there are so many factors than effect every market’s performance. If there was something on this list that you missed, you know what else to try next time! Read our top 10 tips on market selling for further ideas.
In Summary
The main thing about selling at a Christmas Market is that you’re getting out there – your customers are seeing you! Don’t be disheartened if you don’t sell well – you might have reached a whole new audience that didn’t buy on the day but may do in the future.
There is no better way to sell your products than at a market in real life, but once you have left, how will they remember your name? Did you have enough business cards? Were you and your stall memorable? Can they easily shop from you in the new year?
Ask how easy it is for customers to find you again – this is where being listed on Pedddle can help. Click here to find out more about joining us and the benefits of being a member.
Blog last updated October 2025.