Table layout ideas for your market stall: How to create an eye-catching display
How you lay out your market stall will have a direct impact on how customers see, experience and shop your products, and so it will have a big impact on your sales. So it’s really worth thinking about the visual merchandising of your market stall ahead of the day, to make sure you’ve planned how you’ll display everything and have all the props, tablecloth and signs you need.
With ten years’ experience as a visual merchandiser for some of the UK’s biggest brands, and five years running the market where I’ve seen literally thousands of stall layouts, here are my top tips for creating an eye-catching display that will help you smash your sales.
Create height on your market stall
Giving your market stall height has benefits for a range of different reasons: firstly it allows your market stall to be seen from far across the room which will hopefully tempt more customers over to shop with you, it creates a barrier between you and the customer which puts them at ease when browsing, if increases the amount of vertical display space you have to showcase products, and gives you another place to hang signage so your brand name is really visible. There are a few easy ways you can achieve height on your market stall by investing in some small pieces of equipment.
Use an overhead rail: These are readily available online and clip onto the side of your table to give you a rail that stands directly above the length of your table. You can see two examples of how brands have used them below; Harriet has used hers to clip on products, Emily has used hers to hang bags and a sign. It gives your table more of a full 360 type of “shop” feel and really maximises how much space you have to display products! If you use one of these please bring cable ties to secure each end so it cannot fall down.
Use standalone grid systems: A variety of different standalone grid systems are available in all shapes and sizes. They are particularly useful for art and print brands, as they offer a temporary “Wall” to hang things from as you can see below from Rushro Art. If you use these please make sure you have clasps to attach your grid system to your table so it doesn’t fall over.
Use a shelving unit: These are particularly useful if you sell smaller homeware pieces - look at how much space Tabula Vintage has created for her products below! It also gives customers a clear idea of how they’d look displayed in their own home which really helps aid sales. You can pick small shelving units up secondhand pretty cheaply.
Brands pictured: Harriet Says Hi, Emily Davies, Rushro Art, Tabula Vintage
Use props to organise products and personality to your stall
A stall that’s well organised using props is the easiest for customers to shop, and therefore the best! Use props to group products together and display them nicely in a way that customers can easily interact with; this is particularly useful if your products are small like jewellery. See how Ray has used an oyster dish below to group together her tiny pearls so they don’t get lost, it’s so clever. Emily at Sorrel Jewels transformed a regular jewellery box into an Instagramable dream by having her brand logo embroidered on the back, so beautiful. Props are also an easy way to inject fun and personality to your stall, choose things that reflect your brand like Harriet’s mini trolley and Sal’s wooden cart. Cute!
Brands pictured: Harriet Says Hi, Third Culture Kat, Sorrell Jewels, Ray Makes Things
Communicate key messages and your brand name through clear signage
Customers have so much to see at a market, you want your stall to really stand out and you want your product offering to be really clear. You also want them to be able to see your brand name. A great way to achieve all these things is to invest in beautiful signage that clearly communicates these key pieces of information, not only so customers can understand it in the moment but so it’s visible for them to refer back to in photos.
All the below brands have used signage to their advantage think about having one attached to the front of your tablecloth, hung from an overhead rail, or propped up in a photo frame. We love that Jess Knit has used signs to make her pricing really visible, which helps give customers confidence to interact.
Brands pictured: Good Daze, Sanpo, Dogs by Jeff, Jess Game Knit
Give your stall a strong brand identity
The best most effective stalls manage to display their products beautifully and communicate clear messages, while also having a strong brand identity that reflects what customers see from your brand presence online. An easy way to do this is through use of colour - if you have a particular colour associated with your brand make sure this is reflected on your stall! Lords Studio and Museé Roo both do this really well below; their bright pink and bright red stalls always stand out and I recognise them instantly on sight. Nina Bombina’s colourful stall I think really stands out too and feels as fun and bright as you’d expect!
Further to that, check the types of props and signs you’re using reflect the values of your brand too. Palm of Feronia is an excellent example of this, she has a really strong brand presence online and on her social media which is illustrated through the organic wooden sign holders and handmade papier maché props in a neutral colour palette that she uses, as well as the fresh greenery she hangs around her stall from an overhead rail. All of her props speak to the calming, soothing and organic nature of her products.
Brands pictured: Museé Roo, Lords Fragrance, Nina Bombina, Palm of Feronia
More excellent stall layouts and props for inspiration
Brands pictured: Chin Chin, Edie Collection, Hollie Startup, Kalina Woods Ceramics, Soh Vintage, Charlie Taylor, Kalei, Arni, The Stationer, Lazy Home Sorrell Jewels, and Rosie Hurley.
For more examples of excellent stall layouts, we’d really recommend looking at our tagged pictures on Instagram, where you’ll find a load more examples from all different types of brands.
