Market Reports

Here you will find the market reports for all of our events over the last few months, including footfalls and spending tendencies. Overall positives and even negatives about each market are documented for all you stallholders wanting to make an informed decision about any bookings you make. We like to ensure these reports are as honest as possible, we'd much rather adopt this method than sugar coat everything and falsely advertise how incredible a market was if for whatever reason it wasn't. We endeavour to provide the best service possible and these reports should help show how each venue differs whether its easier to unload or the spending is better per customer walking in.

Abingdon Guildhall - 13th April

Good numbers but not such good spending.

As the sun shone down on this superb venue we excitedly set up. The unique layout here creates a wonderfully inviting, yet slightly different display for customers and it tends to work perfectly. The shape and size of the halls are very immersive and with some real history behind them it couldn’t be a better setting for such an event. Combining this with how well stall holders adapt and utilise the space here we’re always optimistic for a great day ahead.

The flow of customers started slow, as expected and then the trickle began to increase late morning. The town was quiet for the most part but the numbers remained steady through the door and mid afternoon, when most events would start to slow down, we picked up a little and had customers streaming in until the very end. Outside of the Christmas season and with no events going on in town we knew the numbers would not be huge but a total of 719 through the door is certain a figure we’re pleased with. 

The gorgeous sunshine brought really good spirits but not wallets however. There was a notably younger demographic than usual today and disposable income was lacking compared to most events here. This made it a little tougher to draw out sales so we didn’t see the massive numbers we often see here. Overall not bad, especially compared to how the rest of the easter holidays have performed thus far, with 5 stallholders comfortably clearing £200 and many more north of £100. We did however have 3 not covering costs which was disappointing, especially as there were a lot pof positive interactions throughout the day. One thing of note is that since the event finished one stallholder has reported further sales of around £100 turning what was already a good day into a great one. It really highlights the importance of the networking element of these events and how proactive selling and just simply being present can boost sales across the board. Not a bad day but some room for improvement, August here will be a good one!

ers into the event and greatly appreciated our efforts. At Mynt Image we always believe in making 100% effort and it was good to see how this was appreciated today.

Guildford Guildhall - 13th April

A difficult morning leading to a much improved afternoon

After the huge footfall in March, we were hopeful of another bumper harvest today. However right from the start, despite the warmer and sunnier weather, few people wanted to come into the event. There were plenty of people on the High street but they all seemed to be in a rush from one shop to another and ignoring our very obvious event. The customers we were managing to turn were not he best buyers and both the stallholders and ourselves were getting rather frustrated. By .1.30pm we had only managed a footfall of 450 which we were not happy with. An extremely loud busker a way down the High street did not help us or those buskers nearer to us, and a demonstration for Palestinian rights also had an effect but this being the last Saturday of the Easter holidays. Thankfully when the afternoon came, there seemed to be a totally different atmosphere in Guildford and people started to visit our event in waves, still with some quiet spells but with much improved momentum. At the end of the day we managed to achieve a footfall of 1083.

We had a good many new stallholders with us today, many bf whom had taken a lte booking due to last minute cancellations. The new stallholders seemed to mix in well with our existing Guildford traders. WE had a good range of quality stalls from fashion to honey products, ceramics to crochet and art, a host of delights for our customers. The stalls all looked professional and appealing and with books also on offer provided products for the whole family. At the end of the day some decent figures had been achieved with at least 3 stallholders selling £300+ including a jeweller. Best sales went to a craft Gin stall who had a much better afternoon than morning and ended up with sales of £500+. Most stallholder achieved between £150 and £250 and we are delighted to say that we are not aware of any who didn’t meet their stall fees. There were some lovely relationships between stallholders, making this a very friendly environment and a good day out for most stallholders.

It is interesting to note that several new stallholders commented on the energy and pro active selling of the event by the Mynt Image team. They were not used to going to events where the organisers worked to get customers into the event and greatly appreciated our efforts. At Mynt Image we always believe in making 100% effort and it was good to see how this was appreciated today.

Marlborough Town Hall - 13th April

A day of great potential which unfortunately wasn’t realised

A lovely warm sunny morning with plenty of people in town browsing the large central street market right from the start. With a very easy set-up, as is usual at Marlborough, we had great expectations for a good day.  With the excellent efforts of our Mynt Image team, customers flowed into the event throughout the day leading to a good footfall for Marlborough of 541 customers. The hall looked appealing and full of brightness and colour. We had a great mix of stalls with products ranging from jewellery to clothing, teddy bears to photography and lots in between. We had many experienced sellers too, mixing with many who were new to us at this location.

It was unfortunate however that the customers seemed to have other things on their mind today besides spending. Whether it was because it was mid-month, Grand National day or they were rushing home for the 1^st BBQ of the season, spending was not as good as we would have expected with a good footfall. It was not only the ‘newbies’; who seemed to find it  difficult, but also those who were more experienced. At the end of the day 3 stallholders had achieved sales of £300+, nothing exceptional, but still good nevertheless. It was good to see jewellery do a lot better today, jewellery has been a tough thing to sell of the last few weeks, but today was in demand. It is always unfortunate to have stalls that don’t do so well, but in these days when customers have to be ‘sold to’ rather than just buy, this is becoming a little more common. We wish we could teach everyone to sell so that every stallholder does well, but unfortunately this is something which only come by experience and which can take selling at many of our event to develop.

Hungerford Corn Exchange - 6th April

Better sales in the afternoon

There was no rain forecast for the day, but there was a strong wind whipping down the High Street  throughout the day. Hungerford is always slow to start and with the fewe people on the High Street this was again the case today with less than 70 people in the first hour ….not that unusual for Hungerford. Hungerford High Street is never busy, but there were plenty of people browsing the antique shops and visiting the town and this caused the footfall to climb with a good footfall of 583 achieved at the end of the day. You can’t force customers into Hungerford market and many of the customers had been in Hungerford for 3-4 hours before making the decision to enter the market towards the end of the day ….these were the ones who seemed to spend the best

Setting up is always easy at Hungerford due to the level ground between the unloading area and the hall itself. The hall looked wonderful and there really were some excellent displays of people’s work ranging from 2 excellent woodworkers to some glistening jewellery and amazing art. A riot of colour and charm met most customers eyes, yet still some seemingly managed to walk round in the morning without buying much. Spending in the morning was slower than expected as our 2 other events also found today,. Why customers were not buying can only be explained by Easter being so early and this being the weekend in the middle of the Ester holidays when many families were on holiday or had run out of money after Easter. Thankfully spending increased a lot in the afternoon with one customers spending over £300 on jewellery at one stall. Sales of Craft gin also massively increased with final sales of £500+. Many stallholders at the end of the event reported sales of between £150 and £250 which they were quite happy with. There was some disappointment however with 4 stalls not having a great day despite the stallholders best efforts.

As the weather becomes warmer, the tourists visit Hungerford more, increasing sales throughout the Summer months. Hungerford is always best in the Summer and we are looking forward to some blistering sales

Salisbury Guildhall - 6th April

A good footfall, but poorer spending than expected

Our Salisbury events are now in their 12^th year, this being the first venue we started working at. Spring Saturdays can be great here and the market place is usually filled with shoppers, especially when there is no rain. Although the temperature never hit the promised  highs of 20C the day remained dry with sunny spells. Set up at Salisbury is pretty simple once stallholders have negotiated the route between the unloading  area and the hall. Many stallholders were ready to start selling before 9am and enjoying an easy coffee to start the day. Customers wanted to enter the Guildhall before 10am and we thought we were in for a good day. The Mynt team managed to get a footfall of 171 by the end of the first hour and this large footfall continued throughout the day until 2.30. At around 2.30 the outside market started to clear up, something it doesn’t normally do until 4pm …clearly it hadn’t been a good day fo the outside market and they were fed up and wanting to get home. Immediately it became difficult to get people into our event, because not only were there less people passing but they were passing through the Square with difficulty due to th market vans and lorries. Havi9ng no market outside at 4pm made packing up for our stallholders much easier but did mean that fewer customers came into our event. At the end of th day our excellent team produced a footfall of 1039, very good for s Spring event at Salisbury

Spending wasn’t easy and free as we would have liked. Customers were reluctant to part with their cash despite some really excellent and appealing stalls. Even the more experienced sellers were finding it hard at times. We are responsible for getting customers into the building but unfortunately can’t make them buy. Some stallholders commented that we were getting the wrong customers into the building  ….this could have been said at all of our 3 events today as nowhere were tremendous sales achieved. However as in Hungerford, sales did seem to improve in the afternoon, despite the number of customers dropping. We are aware of 2 stallholders who achieved sales of almost £400 and further two achieving £300+. Most stallholders seemed to achieve £150+ though we are aware of 4 who did not even achieve their stall fees. Most people seemed to be happy with their day and philosophical about their sales, appreciating that we all have good days as well as bad. 

When we look back at last April, the figures for this year were similar both with the number of customers and the amount being spent. It is hard to remember that the last markets for some stallholders was Christmas where sales were obviously going to be more. Summer, when the tourists are filling the City and Christmas are always the best times in Salisbury, though the good figures achieved by many stallholders today can’t be ignored as good sales for the early Spring

Witney Corn Exchange - 6th April

A tough day overall in the middle of the easter break

The drive into Witney was quiet, hopefully not an indication of the day to come but the sun was shining so we arrived filled with optimism. The set up was good, one or two admin snags added a more interesting approach to the layout but once all of the stallholders were in, we had a warm and inviting display ready to welcome the many many customers of witney. 

Unfortunately, there wasn’t quite as many customers as we had hoped, we were happy with the percentage of customers choosing to enter the market as it was definitely higher than we’d usually see. However, the streets were so quiet overall that the total numbers through the door were still pretty low. We managed 609 adults into the event but it certainly felt like less on this occasion. Perhaps the lack of atmosphere outside making it tough for the team. Thankfully the spirits were higher inside, especially in the afternoon when sales picked up a little.

Being the middle weekend of the school holidays, there was a good chance that the town would be heaving, the bank holiday weekend being the start of the holidays may have scuppered this though. It seemed that many had gone out for the day or were simply away. Its not what previous years has brought here during the same weekends but we’re struggling to think of any other reason as soon to why there were so few people in the streets.

Spending reflected the lacklustre nature of the day, a handful of stallholders sat between £200 and £300 but nothing spectacular overall. Most covered costs and at least half cleared £100 so there was certainly room for improvement but it could have certainly been worse. One major positive for this event is the conversations customers were having which we’re confident will lead to sales either online or at future events.

Lyndhurst Community Centre - Friday 29th March to Monday 1st April

A good Easter weekend for many

This was the first time we have run a 4-day event at Lyndhurst but we are now very glad that we have. With many of our stallholders staying on for the 4 days, they were grateful to not have to move their stalls each evening and just turn up the next morning to stalls already in situ

The weather for the weekend was not looking good. With an early Easter Weekend, this was the start of the tourist season in The New Forest. With rain every day for what has seemed many months, the ground soaking wet and unpassable in places we were not optimistic. However, despite an awful forecast on most days, our staff only ended up getting a little wet in a light shower on the last day of the event in the afternoon …quite a miracle.

There were plenty of people around on the Friday and it was clear that many tourists had come down to the New Forest on the Thursday rather than Good Friday. Many it seems were staying a week in their motor homes, with Easter being that start of the school holidays rather than at the end which seems to be a lot more usual, Saturday was far quieter than we had anticipated due to the fact that it was the first dry Saturday this year and people were certainly out to make the most of it. With some reasonable temperatures and a bright sun, the costal towns were packed, leaving Lyndhurst a little quieter than expected. Easter Sunday started grey and it was clear that not many had returned to the beach. Tourists were out for afternoon teas of having a meal in one of many such establishments in Lyndhurst. Afternoon sales were good, it’s amazing how a little good food and wine helps sales. We expected Monday to be a little quieter than the rest of the weekend, but it wasn’t and there was a continual flow of customers into the event, actually bringing us the largest footfall of the weekend

Footfall

Friday March 29^th - 790

Saturday March 30^th - 855

Sunday March 31^st (Easter Day) - 786

Monday April 1^st - 865

Sales were typical of early Spring events …if Easter had been 2-3 weeks later sales would have been much better. What was interesting was that a different type of stall excelled each day and there was no outstanding stall for the weekend. 

On the Friday Cheese and Chocolates sold especially well. Bird boxes of a more expensive style were selling very well and it was interesting that many stallholders reported selling their more expensive items. Many stalls sold between £200 - £300 though as usual some struggled to sell much at all

On the Saturday, unfortunately due to excellent sunny weather, the event felt a little flat. Glass and art seemed to sell better today. However there were at least 5 stalls that failed to cover their costs. Saturdays are never as good as Sundays at Lyndhurst it seems.

On Easter Sunday most stallholders had a much better day. At least 8 stallholders reported sales of between £200 and £350 so the money was well spread out. There was a much happier atmosphere in the event because customers were at last reaching into their pockets.

Monday saw another grey day and despite our expectations for a slow start, there were plenty of customers. Today honey products and home decorations did the best. One artist and a couple selling decorated wooden trays also did well on the Monday

2 stallholders who were there for the entire 4 days sold in excess of £1200, making it a very profitable weekend. The benefit of these longer events is the lack of stress in packing and unpacking each day

Mynt Image used a team of 6 different leaders during the weekend and managed to adapt the stallholder plan to allow a minimum of movement each day despite a mix of stallholders who stayed for 4, 3, 2 or even 1 day. We have already had several appreciative comments for the efforts our staff put into the events making them run as busily and as smoothly as is possible. A thanks should also go to Alison who runs the café at Lyndhurst and did a fantastic job.

Henley-on-Thames Town Hall - 30th March

A bustling Henley does not disappoint

It was a cold brisk start to the day, the early hours of the morning had a real chill but this soon disappeared as we arrived in Henley and started to set up. The sun broke through and warmed us up nicely as we helped stallholders unload into this stunning venue. Everyone seemed to arrive perfectly staggered so most stall holders received plenty of assistance on the way up to the hall and so it soon transformed into quite welcoming and immersive market place. The mix of stalls was superb and the bright colours in some of the displays played part in delivering a positive bubbly atmosphere.

When the Mynt team ventured outside to draw a crowd, we were greeted with a very quiet town square and some sleepy passers by so the first half hour was slow. Not at all phased by this we attacked the day and worked tirelessly to build the momentum and before long the little trickle of customers became a steady stream. (Its worth noting that the town was never incredibly busy, we've certainly seen more people in the highstreet and achieved much lower footfalls than today.) Even over lunchtime the stream stayed constant and before long we saw some impressive numbers through the door and this continued right until the end. Overall a massive 1185 adults entered the building to explore the market today, a number higher than every event in Henley last year so we're very happy. If we were to include those that snuck in to the market after 4pm and the all of the children into that number then we think it would've been close to 1300.

Sales reflected this footfall too. The sunshine throughout the day seemed to lift peoples spirits nicely and created an excellent platform for stallholders to enjoy the interactions and sell slightly easier. We had one stallh clearing £1000, 2 over £600, another 2 over £500 and most of the rest sitting in the £150-£250 mark. We beleive that everyone covered their stall fee and on top of that had some very positive conversations which will no doubt lead to some after market sales. Despite the time of the year and the school holidays leading parents to be careful with overspending there was still an element of reluctance to part with cash so to have achieved such good figures we're incredibly pleased! This year in Henley is going to be a blinder.

Wallingford Town Hall - 23rd March

A very positive start to this new venue

The day started early with the Mynt team keen to get this much anticipated venue underway. Located right in the heart of this stunning market town the town hall lends perfectly to this type of event and we have been excited for a while to get started here. Set up was pretty smooth, the hall is slightly awkward in dimension but with a unique loop through the main hall and side hall it creates quite the immersive experience. We had a good mix of stalls inside with a handful more occupying the under croft beneath the hall so customers had a lot to really explore throughout the day.

Footfall started quite slow, the town took an hour or so to wake up but when it did the numbers flowed nicely. It felt busy throughout most of the day but never overly crowded which was ideal in creating a really bubbly fun atmosphere and helps put customers at ease while engaging. The biting wind and occasional drizzle made it a little tougher to draw huge numbers but with a sunny afternoon and tireless patter outside we drew a total of 496 customers through the door. A figure that seems low but the quality here definitely seems to have outweighed the quantity

It was great to get involved with the locals too, many of whom were incredibly supportive. The positive feedback was tremendous here today and we’ve gained a wealth of knowledge to help further improve the running of this venue from our end so albeit a good day anyway, we believe this venue can only get better!

Spending seemed pretty good for march too, a number of customers actually spent with several stalls which is always superb. We had one stall taking in excess of £400 with another handful over the £250 mark. The majority of the rest were in the £100-£200 bracket however it was certainly apparent that the possibility for after market sales and commissions would turn any good sales into great sales today. Overall the positive feedback has made us very happy with the day and even more excited to continue here. By all accounts it was quiet in town so we’re already imaging just how good it could be through the summer and even more so at Christmas!

Hungerford Corn Exchange - 23rd March

Vile weather but still some good sales for many

Set up was smooth and we had everything in place before the first stallholders started to arrive around 8:15am.. 

The morning started bright and sunny although cooler than the last couple of events and we knew that the weather was to change as the day progressed but not to the extent that it did. We, had two showers of hailstones around lunchtime which turned the cars white, and we had quite a few rain Showers in the afternoon. The wind blowing up from the railway bridge and canal direction was icy. These conditions clearly had an adverse affect on the number of people shopping in or visiting the town itself.

Footfall was slow to start as expected even in the bright sunshine at the start of the day and we finally hit 100 by 11:15am. Things picked up a little then and we were able to attract the attention of people from the coffee shops and antique stores and with several trips up and down the High Street and a couple of visits into the Tesco entrance we got a cheery remark from people that they would visit later in the day. This seemed to work as we finished the day with 445 visitors. We did find that people popped in to shelter from the rain in the afternoon so it's never easy to determine whether the showers were a hinderance of a help at the time!

Sales were mixed throughout the day with one stallholder achieving sales of £500+, four hitting £200+ and five achieving just over £100. We did however have four who just covered their table cost, with three taking no sales at all with three others achieving less than £10. Most people were philosophical and said the weather had probably let us all down. They all vowed to be back again and said they were used to having great days, good days and the occasional not very good day!

Everybody thanked us and took pity on us with the weather throughout the afternoon and a couple of people even offered to buy us coffee as they made their way to the various coffee shops across the road. 

Thame Town Hall - 23rd March

A satisfactory event considering the weather

It had been lovely warm spring like weather during the week, but what a change on this Saturday. There was a biting icy wind in Thame which was certainly more than a breeze and [penetrated right to the skin. A beautiful blue sky deteriorated rapidly into dark threatening clouds which thankfully passed over rapidly with the strong wind, though often led to heavy rain showers and even some hail. Despite this, there were plenty of potential customers on the streets of Thame, though many were scurrying between shops  rather than wanting to browse shop windows ….our venue did prove popular for getting a little warmer and getting out of the rain. By the end of the day the Mynt team had achieved a satisfactory footfall of 461, a little on the lower side than hoped for, though certainly not our of line with 2023 footfalls

Thame is not a large hall and space is limited for stallholders, though by working together, every spare part of space within the hall seemed to be used today. Stalls were very attractive with some excellent height and colour even from several stallholders new to the business. The hall looked really attractive and there was certainly a lot of quality products on display, perfect for a Thame event. It was lovely to see many new stallholders to our event at Thame and even better to see some of them doing very well, It was also good to see many being mentored and encouraged by many of our more experienced stallholders, some being determined by the end of the day toi do better at their next event, having learnt a lot of new skills. There was a good ‘buzz’ amongst most stallholders with most being very happy with the day, many having made several new contacts in the craft world.

The people of Thame usually spend well and this is one of those venues that springs to mind when we say that a large footfall is not required to produce good sales. Customers were spending today, though pockets felt a little deeper than usual and customers had to be encouraged to part with their money. It does seem to be those who stood, engaged with customers and then then sold their products who did the best with our only candle seller achieving sales of £400+. Thame is famously an events where sales are better in the last 2 hours, but this was turned on its head by our author today who did ¾ of his very good sales within the first 2 hours …very unusual for Thame. At least 3 other stallholders achieved sales around £300 including an artist and a jeweller who were joined by a stall selling crochet Easter items.

This was a reasonable start to our 11^th year at Thame, though we would have achieved so much better if conditions had been more favourable. Our Mynt team never gave up all day, though to be honest were glad to be back in a nice warm car at the end of the day!

Guidlford Guildhall - 16th March

A huge footfall creates some very good sales for many.

The day started bright and sunny and there was little chance of any rain, though it was certainly colder than it had been lately. The M25 was closed for the first time in history and we knew that this would have n impact on the n umber of people in Guildford ….and we were correct. The first hour at Guildford is the crucial one and always the hardest one to get customers into the event as they seem to have other things on their mind. Guildford is always slow to start but we knew this and still managed to attract 100 customers into the event before 11am …and then the streets started to fill with potential customers. At times it seemed as if there were more people in Guildford in March then there were at Christmas, the High Street was bustling. It remained this way until almost 5pm when we closed, something we rarely see. It was clear that local people were avoiding the traffic chaos and staying to shop local for a change. By the end of the day we achieved a historic 1407 footfall, a high standard to set even for Guildford

We have created a more open entrance to the Guildhall, something we tried just before Christmas and this has had a good effect on footfall we can clearly state now. The entrance is less cluttered and less dark, making it more attractive to enter. We also had our cardboard cut outs of 2 famous personalities on the doors today and these provide the back drop for a large amount of photographs. We aim to keep this lighter looking entrance now because it is certainly proving popular with customers. Setting up at Guildford is thankfully never difficult, with the road not becoming pedestrianised until 9am. This allows most stallholders plenty of time to get their stalls set up without rushing. It was at the end of the day that we experienced some difficulties which marred an excellent event with the firm hired by Surrey County Council failing to open the barriers at 6am and causing gridlock within the city which affected most of the central roads and caused great frustration. This is something we aim to solve before the next event

With such a large footfall we knew that sales would be good today and we were right. At least 2 stallholders sold in excess of £550, interestingly the same figure one had achieved the previous March at Guildford. Most stallholders reported sales between £200 and £350 both upstairs and downstairs, most stallholders hitting their own targets they had set. One stallholder reported selling more today than they had just before Christmas, There was a good mix of stallholders too with several newbies to us including a tea seller doing very well and having a great first event with Mynt Image as well as being well supported by a neighbouring stallholder.  Not all sales can be exceptional and even with such a huge March footfall, one stallholder failed to meet the stall costs which was somewhat surprising.

The bar has been set for future Guildford events in 2024 and it is a high one.

Salisbury Guildhall - 16th March

Brilliant footfall to kick start the year in Salisbury

With the mildest start to the week and the promise of sunshine we felt we were in for a good day. Set up ran smoothly overall, lots of newer faces to theis exceptional venue made it a little more hectic to get going as if you're unfamiliar with the area it can be a little confusing on the on the one way system. Once stall holders arrived though we helped get them in swiftly and the marvellous guidhall transformed quickly into quite the display. Products disaplyed in various ways helped create an immersive experience for customers and once they started flowing they seemed to really engage.

The footfall started slow but gained momentum by around 1030 and dist stop for a couple of hours. The atmosphere was fantastic, lots of really interested and engaging customers made for an enjoyable day, many stallholders even commented on how quickly the event seemed to pass. The numbers stayed steady until mid afternoon where they slowly dwindled to a light trickle for the last half an hour. Overall we achieved 1127 customers through the door (plus many beautiful dogs) so could not be  happier with such a bold start to the season here.

Spending was relatively mixed, a couple of stallholders around the £300 mark were the most successful of the day and it seemed that a lot sat in the £150-£250 bracket. A handful struggled covering costs but there seemed to be the promise of either repeat business or commisions which can always turn any day into a great one. There was no real stand out stall today sales wise but the number of positive conversations gives us great hope for those that return to this venue will reap the rewards from this event. Although we'd have liked a little more cash in the pockets for our stallholders today we're pretty happy overall especially for this time of the year, and knowing the potential aftermarkets sales we certainly cant complain, Roll on April in Salisbury

Lymington Masonic Hall - 16th March

A great footfall but frustrating sales

The day started off bright and even sunny at times. Rain was forecast for the afternoon and by the amount of people on the streets of Lymington in the morning, it was clear that the public had decided to shop in the morning to miss the forecast rain. Customers started to flow into the event right from the start, with our 2 staff members working the town as no other organisations do. After 2 hours, over 500 customers had been attracted into the event with our workers having to limit entry at times to stop overcrowding. Unfortunately with the promise of rain, which never came, the streets emptied in the afternoon and it became hard to find any local members of the public to invite into the event. The final footfall was 1096, very high for March at this venue when the tourists haven’t yet arrived.

The event at Lymington offers free parking for many stallholders, making it an easy location for most stallholders to use. Few steps into the building make it easy to unload in the morning, so there are usually few problems at the beginning of the day. We unfortunately had 3 cancellations during the last week, making us slightly short of stallholders so Keith used his skill and experience to manoeuvre the stalls to still make it look full. All stallholders were nicely in place ready for the event to start at 10am

We had a really good mix of stallholders today with various typers of jewellery on offer, some wonderful art and even some food stalls. The hall looked conducive and inviting for customers. We also had a good mixture of experienced and new stallholders. It is always good to see the new stallholders being well supported by those with more experience. Selling is itself an art and a craft and selling skills were needed today to create good sales. The public, despite such large numbers, were not in the mood to spend and unfortunately this showed in the final figures achieved. It is slightly unusual to have low figures at this time of year because March can be very good indeed. We had a few stallholders achieving £200+ whilst most achieved around the £100 mark, disappointing for Lymington especially when such a good footfall had been achieved. Several stallholders really struggled despite coaching from those around them and unfortunately we are aware of 4 who didn’t meet their table costs which is very disappointing.

We look forward to the end of March when tourists start to arrive and spending inevitably increases. With footfalls like this, we are optimistic for a good year at Lymington.

Marlborough Town Hall - 9th March

An exceptional footfall sees a promising start to the year

It was a gloomy grey day and it was clear that there had been many heavy showers around Marlborough with huge puddles along the road. There was virtually no sign of the Marlborough outside market, many outside market holders having chosen not to attend. Thankfully throughout the whole day we experienced only a few spots of rain and the sun came out at times. It was a distinctly chilly day and many of our customers were keen to enter the town hall out of the cold wind.

Set up was easy, as is usual at Marlborough. With a cancellation the evening before, we were able to give many stallholders a little bit of extra room, which is always a bonus for Marlborough. We had a really good mix of stalls and stallholders today with several stallholders attending their first ever events. There was certainly a great atmosphere in the hall, it is always so lovely to see stallholders getting along with each other so well.

Customers started coming into the event long before it officially opened at 10am, there were clearly plenty of visitors to Marlborough around and plenty of people looking for Mother’s day gifts. The Mynt Image team started attracting customers into the event from 10am with a member of the team walking around the town advertising the event and another working from the steps of the Town Hall itself. It certainly is a tactic  which works and it attracts customers from the far end of the town to walk along the length of the town to find the market. With a footfall in the first hour of 117, we knew that we were in for a large footfall, which always is useful to create good sales. There was a steady stream of customers throughout the day,,  though it seemed to come in waves with large family groups and visitors  attending. There were certainly plenty of customers in the event at most times, which is surprising considering the low number of people on the streets. At the end of the day a footfall of 737 was achieved, far higher than normal at this time of year

At times the hall was filled to capacity with customers, allowing still room for them to attend the stalls, but also creating a lovely buzz. Although spending in the morning was not great, most stallholders were making profit before lunchtime came. The afternoons at Marlborough are always the best and today was no exception. 2 stallholders, an artist and a jeweller achieved sales of £300+ with at least 6 others hitting the £200 mark. Most stallholders achieved at least around the £100 mark and we are only aware of 1 stallholder not making their stall fees. Several customers came back several times, clearly coming back to buy something they had seen earlier. There were still plenty of customers in the hall at 4pm and we even had customers wanting to enter at 4.40 when most stallholders had left the hall and were on their way home.

This is a great start to our Marlborough event for 2024 and certainly demonstrates why they were all for 2024, fully booked before the end of October 2023. Marlborough High Street seems to be busy and bustling with people once more, just as we experienced when we first came here 11 years ago.

Witney Corn Exchange - 9th March

A slow start in Witney as customers seem to still be hibernating

After the long winter break it was great to back in one of our favourite venues. With the expansion of the cafe area here we were excited to utilise the additional hall upstairs to make up for the loss of space in the foyer. Its a great space and allows for some extra stalls overall which makes for an even better custoemr experience. Set up was still nice and easy with each hall looking superb.

As we opened the doors the handful of customers chomping at the bit to come in which was a slight mis-representation of the rest of the morning as the high street remained much quieter than we'd have hoped. The percentage of those out and about who came into the event was actaully very high it was just a shame that there were so few outside to draw in. One of the days potential challenges was ensuring that customers made their way around each hall and we had the perfect solution. Working tirelessly in the hallway to direct customers through each hall Julie sent the vast majority of customers through both, with only a small number not making it upstairs. We actually had a a couple of comments from downstairs stallholders that too many of the customers were going up.

The weather managed to stay quite pleasant for the most part, a few spots of rain late morning didn't help with gaining momentum but the sun throughout the afternoon was well received. Annoyingly the improved weather probably lead to the quieter highstreet as the was a noticeable  drop in footfall compared to the same events in previous years. Overall 607 through the door is not quite what we hoped but still a decent figure considering the lack of footfall through the door.

Spending was quite mixed, a few regulars were roughly 50% lower on sales compared to last March here but then a handful of stallhoders did very well. We had a couple exceeding expectations and clearing £400 with another just below the £300 mark. It was apparent that people were not impulsing buying as such but mostly buying with purpose, mothers day, birthdays etc and in some cases Christmas! This meant the more expensive jewellery and some of the largert art struggled as these often tend to be purchases for the customers themselves. It felt a tought day all round but we have certainly learned a lot from using this venue slightly differently so we're already looking forward to april.