The ultimate guide to attending market

We won’t sugarcoat it: Going to market is exhausting. Dozens of floors, hundreds of brands, thousands of people...it’s easy to get overwhelmed before you get started.

But don’t knock them yet. Sure, you can always take the easy way out and source wholesale items for your store online. But going to market opens so many more doors for retail business owners and buyers: You get to see, feel, smell (or whatever!) products in real life. You can build relationships with vendors and secure more negotiating power. You can explore and source new brands you may not have found online. You’ll get merchandising ideas. The list goes on.

And the good news is, with enough preparation and the right retail purchasing tools, it is possible to walk away feeling far more fulfilled than fatigued.

Whether you’re a small business headed to your very first market or are a buying vet trying to make the procurement process more efficient than exhausting, we’ve got the goods on preparing for and navigating wholesale buying shows. Now you can get the right products, at the right time, for the right price — without breaking a sweat.

Read on to learn how to:

What markets should I attend?

Here’s a list of major US wholesale buying markets for specialty retail to get you started. Keep in mind, though, that there are even more vertical-specific shows — serving everyone from running stores to stationery shops.

AmericasMart© Atlanta

• Atlanta Apparel: March, June, August, October

Atlanta Shoe Market: February, August

California Market Center

• LA Market Week: January, March, June, July, October
• LA Kids Market: January, February, March, June, July, September, October

Chicago Collective: February, August

Chicago Shoe Market: February, July

COTERIE (New York, NY): February, September

Dallas Market Center

• Apparel and Accessories: January, March, June, August, October
• Kidsworld: March, June, August, October
• Dallas Men’s Show: July

MAGIC

• MAGIC Las Vegas: February, August
• MAGIC Nashville: April
• MAGIC New York: February, September

OFFPRICE

• OFFPRICE Las Vegas: February, August
• OFFPRICE Orlando: October

PROJECT

• PROJECT New York: January, July
• PROJECT Las Vegas: February, August

WWIN Womenswear in Nevada (Las Vegas, NV): February, August

AmericasMart® Atlanta

• Atlanta Market: January and July

ASD Marketweek (Las Vegas, NV): March, August

Dallas Market Center

• Total Home & Gift: January, March, June, September

NY NOW (New York, NY): February, August

SF NOW (San Francisco, CA): April

AmericasMart® Atlanta

• Atlanta Market: January and July
• Casual Market Atlanta: July

ASD Marketweek (Las Vegas, NV): March, August

Dallas Market Center

• Total Home & Gift: January, March, June, September

California Market Center

• LA Textile: February, September

NY NOW (New York, NY): February, August

SF NOW (San Francisco, CA): April

How to prepare for market in the weeks before

Register for the show

Retail markets are open to the trade retail industry only — they are not a place for consumers to shop (that’s what your store is for!). Because of this, most have extensive registration processes, especially for first-time attendees. You’ll have to provide proof that you’re a retail business owner: things like recent invoices, tax registration and/or credit reference.

Even if this is not your first time attending a particular market, you’ll still want to pre-register to avoid lines at the show. Note that some shows have pre-registration cutoffs: If you don’t sign up online by their deadline, you must register onsite.

Book travel and lodging

Though there’s no show entry fee for verified retailers, you’ll have to secure accommodations. Before you do, peek at the show’s website to see if they’ve negotiated group discounts for nearby hotels and parking facilities (chances are yes).

Run point of sale system (POS) reports

The first mistake most new retailers make is buying based on intuition and personal preference. You might get a few things right, but overall, it’s a risky move. Your goal as a buyer is to secure the products your customers want at the highest margin. To do that, you need data.

As you prepare for market, make a date with your point of sale system: You’ve got some POS reports to run. These metrics will help you determine what and how much you should order. Instead of browsing aimlessly, you’ll start your seasonal buying journey with a plan.

Equally important, arming yourself with performance data can help you secure better terms with vendors. For example, say your customers love a particular brand, but it doesn’t have a super profitable margin. Showing this sales data to the vendor might help you secure a discount. After all, the reps want their products in your store, so you usually have negotiating power. They’re after your customer loyalty, too.

Here are a few reports to get you started. Your POS, warehouse management system or retail purchasing software should also have functionality that allows you to run customizable reports for the KPIs most important to your unique retail business:

Sales and margin

At a high level, this report shows how your customers are responding to merchandise and if it’s profitable. Remember: Just because an item brings in high gross sales doesn’t mean it’s a slam dunk — you’ve got to look at margin as well and confirm you’re actually making money on it.

You can run this report by category, brand, style name — all the way down to a specific color, size, scent...the world (er, point of sale) is your oyster when your POS has built-in custom reporting.

If you’re a multi-location and/or omnichannel business, you need to run these reports for all of your retail stores, ecommerce site(s) and any other sales channels. What sells in your New York store may not perform the same in your New Orleans location, and vice versa.

Sales by month / season

Many retailers go to market twice a year, so you’ll likely be buying for two upcoming seasons at each. Get a feel for vendors’ ship dates, and run reports that look at sales performance for that time frame last year, plus your sales goals for the season this year. That way, you’ll know you’re buying enough merchandise to meet that sales plan.

Vendor sales performance

This helps you understand which brands you should go deeper in and which you may want to drop. If a brand isn’t performing well (and we mean over multiple seasons — not just one outlier) and your customers aren’t asking for it, it might be time to cut ties.

Inventory levels on hand and on PO

Before you go adding more to your store, look at your current stock levels, plus any open purchase orders (POs) sitting in your POS system. Think about how much cash is currently tied up in inventory, and make a plan for selling through it before bringing in more.

Create an open-to-buy plan

It’s easy to overbuy at market. With hundreds of inviting booths and convincing sales reps, who could blame you? That’s why creating and sticking to an open-to-buy plan (OTB) is critical.

Think of your OTB as a budget — the amount of merchandise you have budgeted for purchase during a given period. Sticking to it is critical to successful inventory management and buying.

Research vendors and book appointments

One of the easiest ways to save time at market? Make a list of who you want to see.

You’ll find a vendor directory on the show’s website. Do preliminary research into their brands and products to know exactly who you want to meet when you get there. This isn’t to say you can’t leave time for browsing — buying markets are a prime place for discovering new vendors and products. But arriving with a wish list will give you structure, and creating a plan based on the vendors’ location within the show makes for a more efficient day (and less walking in circles).

Another plan of attack is to dedicate your first full day to walking the show: Take notes and make a plan for who you want to revisit the following day(s).

Also, shows get busy! On average, you’ll likely find only one or two reps in a booth, so you may be fighting for their attention. Avoid this by setting up meetings before the show, so they’re expecting you and can give you undivided attention when you arrive.

In your pre-show correspondence, ask for their current catalog or linesheet. The great thing about market is you get a feel for product quality. That can’t be replicated through a digital linesheet. But, it doesn’t hurt to start browsing before you arrive. That way, you’ll have an idea of the pieces you want to see and time to consider product-related questions.

One more thing you can do from home: Set up vendors in the POS. If you’re fairly confident that you’ll proceed with an order, create a vendor profile in your retail POS system. A perk of cloud retail management systems like Heartland Retail is your ability to enter items and orders into the POS straight from the showroom. If you already have the vendors set up, that’s one less thing to do at the show.

How to prepare for market in the days before

Prepare and charge your tech

The great thing about cloud-based POS software: You can take it anywhere. So, when you have a retail point of sale like Heartland Retail, you can bring your retail management software right to the show floor. Use the user-friendly order management features and inventory management software (both built into one powerful retail solution) to pull reports, set up vendor profiles and SKUs, create purchase orders and more in real time.

Download the mobile app

Many shows now have an app with floor plans, event schedules and a food/amenities directory. Download it before you arrive, since some also have features to help plan your visit.

How to navigate and get the most out of market

Attend a market walking tour

If this is your first visit to a particular market, it may be worth the extra time to jump on a walkthrough, which most shows host every morning. Get the lay of the land, and scope out things like restrooms, coffee stands and charging stations.

Walk the show and meet with vendors

Time for the fun part! Here’s how to maximize your time in each showroom or booth.

• Before you browse, ask how the space is arranged. Are certain sections ready to ship? Are items organized by ship date? The answers may influence how you prioritize your time.

• Take photos. It may be months before the items you order are set to ship, so take photos to jog your memory as you do any other seasonal buys and start planning displays and marketing. You also may choose to place orders after the show — since you’ll have looked at hundreds of items, you’ll be grateful to have photos of everything you’re considering once you sit down to start making decisions.

• Take notes. In the same vein, you’ll want to be able to reference product details and conversations you had with the vendor post-show.

Writing your orders

First thing to know: You don’t have to place orders while you’re at the show. With your notes, photos and linesheets in tow, you can wait until you’re back in store or at another home base to make final decisions and place orders.

But, some vendors offer show specials, meaning you could get a discount if you place your order then and there. Or, you might want to do so to avoid missing out on products with limited stock.

If you go that route, you’ll sit down with the vendor to write the order. Here’s where having pre-printed notecards with your business information will save time: The vendor can either attach it to a paper copy, or if they’re placing the order digitally, all of your info is in front of them. Secure copies of your orders (if not a paper copy, don’t leave the booth until you receive an email confirmation!). Ideally, you want the purchase orders as Excel or CSV files, because with Heartland Retail, you can upload those POs right to the POS.

(If they aren’t sent in that format, don’t worry: We have a template that still makes uploading easy!)

Here’s the best thing about that feature: If you’ve preloaded purchase orders into the POS, you can easily see what’s coming (and when). And, everything will be ready to go as soon as the items arrive at your store: You can quickly receive the items by scanning their barcodes, and any discrepancies between what you received and what was on your order are highlighted instantly.

Learn, network and have fun(!)

Going to market should be more than a buying trip. Most put on education sessions, panels and networking events. Plus, you’ll find many vendors – from retail operations consultants to software solution companies – hosting on and offsite cocktail hours and parties.

Yes, you have your buying work cut out for you, but if you want to make the most of your time there, leave space for attending these gatherings. You never know what connections you’ll walk away with.

As you look ahead to your next buying season, make sure you have a cloud point of sale with retail POS tools for reporting and purchasing. Of all the tips we’ve shared, having the right POS solution is one of the best advantages you can give yourself as you prepare for and navigate markets. Here's a quick and easy way to see if Heartland Retail is in your budget. If you decide it’s the best choice for your store, you can start your enrollment right away.

If you’re feeling energized now, just wait until you get to market. We wish you safe travels and a successful buying season!

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Heartland is the point of sale, payments and payroll solution of choice for entrepreneurs that need human-centered technology to sell more, keep customers coming back and spend less time in the back office. Nearly 1,000,000 businesses trust us to guide them through market changes and technology challenges, so they can stay competitive and focus on building remarkable businesses instead of managing the daily grind. Learn more at heartland.us