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Faire Summer Market was a two-day virtual event that offered a variety of maker presentations as well as informational sessions. The event was held from Aug. 26-27 and offered buyers an opportunity to see merchandise, ask questions, and more.

During the Holiday trend data presentation on day one by Lauren Cooks Levitan, CFO for Faire, four popular categories for the holidays were discussed: home décor, accessories, candles and apparel. She pointed out that consumers will most likely be shopping earlier for the holidays to allow time to ship gifts. Retailers should be rethinking their store hours, layout and other ways to streamline shopping. “Customers will be ‘buying’ not ‘shopping’ and want to be able to get in and out of stores quickly,” Cooks Levitan pointed out.

Three top brand filters used by buyers on the Faire site give a good glimpse into what buyers are looking for. The first one, Made in the USA, reflects that 50% of shoppers prefer gifts made in the USA, according to Faire data. Handmade was the second most sought after filter. Consumers are looking for well-crafted, high quality products. The third top filter was Eco-Friendly. This has been a top trend across categories throughout 2020 and sustainability remains a consumer priority, Cooks Levitan said.

Other popular categories reflect life during the pandemic. Tie-dye, masks and mask accessories and hair accessories such as scrunchies, headbands and hair clips rank high in Faire search data. Consumer priorities are reflected in popular areas of interest such as cooking, gardening, plants, pets, and political activism. 

Day 1 Highlights

On Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, Faire debuted Candlefish’s new wholesale line, provided a tour of Latika Beauty’s factory and a demonstration from Honey Belle. The Summer Market offered this experience in a live format, and offered nearly 5,000 brands running exclusive promotions across all categories. Faire also offered average discounts of 20% with promotion-matching. “We’re thrilled to offer our retailers access to the best deals of the season from unique emerging and established brands,” Faire noted on it’s official show recap of the first day.

The show’s first day included:

• Faire awarded ten of its retailers with a $1,000 shopping credit to use at the Summer Market.
• Industry insights from Dana Telsey, consumer retail consultant.
• Holiday trend data presented by Lauren Cooks Levitan, CFO for Faire.
• Additional live-stream presentations from a variety of makers: Itzy Ritzy, 1 in 6 Snacks, Spicewalla, Twisted Wares, Wet-it!, and Wilco Home.

Day 2 Highlights

On Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020, Max Rhodes, CEO, and Lauren Cooks Levitan, CFO, hosted a Q&A session during its virtual Faire Summer Market. During this Q&A session, Rhodes and Levitan answered customers’ questions, shared insights, and discussed best practices for small businesses ahead of the holiday season.

Day 2 of the show provided participants content in an engaging, interactive format and even provided a morning stretch with Tule Fog in San Francisco. Soberdough provided a live demonstration of its easy-to-bake bread and TEASPRESSA provided a tutorial on how to make simple cocktails.

The Summer Market’s second day included:

• Patti Carpenter, trend ambassador and color expert, discussed ways to understand and spot trends.
• Q&A with Faire’s Max Rhodes,CEO, and Lauren Cooks Levitan, CFO.
• Additional live-stream presentations from manufacturers: Shupaca, Itzy Ritzy, Country Chic Paint, and Candlefish.

“We hope you all felt the value and impact of being able to connect with each other in a dedicated online space,” expressed Faire in its recap of the final day of the show. “Thanks for joining us! In two days we covered 48 livestream events and over 960 minutes of livestreaming content, with 35,000 retailers attending the show each day and 2x the average order volume! We’re so grateful to see the rebound of local retail and feel more hopeful than ever about our future, together.”