Physical shops have a key advantage over e-commerce: there’s an actual space to bring people together with on-site retail events. As a retailer, having a visitable location gives you access to customers interested in your shop’s products.
Creating in-store events brings your customer base together and grows your community, with outsiders intrigued by the goings-on. They can reinforce relationships between you and your customers, reminding people why they already love your products and providing an opportunity to introduce them to your latest offerings. All you need are some engaging retail event ideas.
To help you create innovative retail events, we’ve put together this guide full of event ideas for retail shops, so you can take advantage of the space you have available.
Table of contents
What to consider when planning an in-store event
Retail event ideas to get you started
Case studies tell the tale: success breeds success
What is a retail event?
A retail event is an event that’s typically open to the public, organised or hosted by a retailer – often at the shop location. If the occasion calls for it, the event can be held elsewhere.
The event will generally feature products sold by the retailer – for example, a shop that sells kitchen equipment may host a cooking class using its wares, or an outdoor equipment shop might organise a wilderness survival workshop featuring its equipment.
Benefits of retail events
While retail events can be time-consuming and costly, they help set brands apart from their online and high-street competitors. This has important marketing and branding benefits. An in-shop event establishes the brand as more than a simple retailer, introducing a lifestyle element to the brand that can lead to increased growth and opportunity.
In addition to distinguishing a shop’s brand from competitors without the space to accommodate guests, retail events also help with:
Building a customer base
Events introduce your shop to new customers. Event-goers often bring friends or family, who may not be familiar with either the activity or the brand. Similarly, people looking for an event to attend may find a brand they wouldn’t have found when shopping only. Events broaden the brand’s marketing reach, exposing the brand to potential customers it may not have reached otherwise.
Brand loyalty
Retail events strengthen the association event-goers have between a retailer’s products and the activity at the centre of the event. That association will often increase the event-goer’s brand loyalty and expand the brand’s reach to the event activity. So, an athleticwear brand might attract brand loyalty among the event-goers first introduced to the brand by a yoga class held at the shop location, or a video-game retailer can increase its association with gaming by hosting an e-tournament.
Increased sales and revenue
A more extensive customer base and greater brand loyalty naturally lead to increased sales and revenue. Don’t forget to maintain growth by continuing an events program that keeps widening your brand’s reach.
What to consider when planning an in-store event
When brainstorming ideas for in-shop events, take a broad overview of your shop, your community and your goals before deciding on a format and topic. This helps create a solid foundation on which to build your event and enhances your chances of success.
1. Know your community and audience
It’s a golden rule: know your audience. If you don’t know who your audience is, how will you know how to interest and inspire them? Your audience will likely be made up of your customer base, so note who your customers are. Are they older or younger? Married or single? Students or professionals? The types of events that appeal to university students, for example, will be different to those attracting families.
2. Connect with your brand
As interesting and entertaining as your event may be, remember that the purpose of hosting an event is to grow your brand by growing your community. This means taking full advantage of every branding opportunity. For example, promote the event as being “presented” by your brand, so your community immediately associates your brand with the event.
3. Get noticed
Make your event stand out. Instead of a book reading of the newest murder mystery at your independent bookshop, turn it into a murder mystery event and have guests figure out who the “murderer” is. Take the unique aspects of your shop and highlight them throughout your event. If you run a fashion boutique, a fashion show complete with a catwalk could grab attention. Get creative!
4. Schedule strategically
Dates around holidays are perfect times to schedule your retail events. People are already in a celebratory mood, they’re willing to go out to events, and they can often be in the market to purchase gifts as well. More shoppers mean more foot traffic around your location, so your event can attract passers-by who may not be familiar with your event or shop.
Retail event ideas to get you started
Now that you’ve considered some concepts for your event, determine what formats and topics will help your shop marketing plan. Remember to adapt your plan to suit your brand’s identity. That way, guests will have an engaging experience learning about your products and you’ll reinforce your branding by making it integral to the event.
1. Host a fundraiser
Turn your event into a fundraiser and contribute to society while associating your brand with charitable activities. It doesn’t matter what retail sector you’re in – there’s almost always a charitable angle to pursue. For example, if you run a bakery, host a fundraiser to raise scholarship money for aspiring culinary students.
2. Hold a class or demonstration
When exploring ideas for your retail event, think of something that teaches attendees a new skill and uses your shop’s products in the class. For example, cooking classes and demonstrations make natural – and popular – events for shops selling kitchen appliances. If you sell electronic goods, host a demonstration that teaches how to best outfit your home theatre.
3. Showcase a product
If you have a particular product you want to draw attention to, host a product showcase event to highlight everything you want people to know about the product. If it’s a new fashion line for your boutique, hire models and show off the collection. Make the presentation attention-grabbing with special lighting and music.
4. Bring in a guest speaker
Guest speakers can create excellent events, especially if the guest is noteworthy or accomplished. An author at a bookshop is a classic example, but there are many other possibilities. Invite a jeweller to speak at your jewellery boutique or invite a gaming streamer to your video-game shop for a signing or demo.
5. Thank your community
Express your gratitude to new and returning customers with a special customer appreciation event. Creating a memorable, positive event can persuade customers to continue shopping with your business – and you can spread the word about your products.
6. Get creative with social media
Social media helps get the word out about your event. Offer a promotion to anyone who shares a post about your event and give them 10% off in-shop. Eventbrite Boost makes it easy to promote your event across a range of social media sites, maximising your event’s reach.
7. Offer freebies
There’s a reason big-name companies give free gifts to celebrities at awards shows. Provide a limited number of goodie bags – stocked with some of your favourite items – to customers on a first-come, first-served basis to encourage early arrivals. The more people that learn about your product, the better.
8. Run a competition
Another way to promote your brand is by holding a competition. Have a breakout during your event for a special prize draw, giving away a shop item to the lucky winner. Or go for the classic option – a trivia quiz – but focus the questions on your brand.
Case studies tell the tale: success breeds success
Check out what events have worked in the past and what other event creators in similar situations are doing. We’ve gathered these in-store event examples so you can take inspiration from their success.
John Lewis puts the focus on beauty
As the UK’s leading high-end department store, John Lewis has adopted a particular focus on beauty care, with products ranging from skincare and makeup to haircare and male grooming. Alongside beauty care products, their store emphasises a high-tech shopping experience. As a major part of that experience, they host an ongoing series of online and in-person events where a different brand is highlighted at each one. It gives guests the opportunity to try a new product and further strengthens the John Lewis brand as the go-to for beauty care.
Northern Wine School helps you taste wine like a professional
Based in Manchester, Northern Wine School believes that the more you know about something, the more you can get out of it. And they know everything there is to know about wine, spirits and sake. They offer a wide range of different wine courses and you can even become a scholar in French or Spanish wines. They also run regular events, including gin tastings with afternoon tea, whisky-tasting evenings and Saturday wine tastings with a three-course lunch.
Westland Place Studios sees the bigger picture
It probably comes as no surprise that a city as iconic as London is home to some excellent photography studios. Westland Place Studios are one of the oldest established art and design studios in London. They offer a full calendar of events throughout the year, including Discover Photography workshops, online Creative Photography courses and Sketching The City drawing events. Their workshops are high quality, with all their tutors having professional experience, but they pride themselves on providing relaxed social events.
Waterstones loves a bookworm
Waterstones is the UK’s leading specialist book retailer. Every year they run numerous events aimed at building their community of book lovers. Their typical customer appreciation event ranges from book signings with new and much-loved authors to film screenings, talks, book groups and poetry readings. They also take part in a number of literary festivals across the country and provide activities for children. Their reputation as a specialist retailer means they can attract the biggest names to their events, adding value to their community of readers.
Now turn your retail event ideas into event realities
Once you’ve decided on the best event format for your shop and have secured guest speakers or partners, create your event on Eventbrite. Take advantage of the array of marketing and promotional tools, including ticket sales and registration, and use Eventbrite Boost, the event promotion tool that makes it easy to market your event across social media platforms and more.
Get your next event started today.
