merchandise marquees and our tips for success
The event merchandise market
Merchandise is big business for events and research from At Venu indicated that festival merchandise sales are up 8% YoY, with the average “merch” spend per fan sitting at £56. As well as an increase in gross merchandise sales, the average number of items fans are buying is up from 1.7 items in 2024 to 2.1 items in 2025.
Unsurprisingly, popular items include, t-shirts and hoodies which are easy to carry, light and compact. However, there is a growing trend towards brand partnerships and premium retail experiences beyond traditional event merchandise.
What is a merchandise marquee?
A merchandise marquee is a pop-up shop used for retail space at outdoor events such as festivals, shows and concerts to sell goods, mainly merchandise to increase revenue. It’s a dedicated space, designed to attract customers.
Making more from on site sales
Industry data, provided by Power EPOS analysed Amazon search behaviour and found that up to £100 million in festival merchandise demand is currently online, not onsite at the events themselves. Fans of one major UK festival drove £2.29 million online merchandise searches, with an average item price of £24.80, totalling a staggering £56.9 million in off-site merchandise demand. Imagine if just 10% of this additional revenue was secured on-site, instead flowing straight to online retailers.
When combined with UK consumer data showing that festivalgoers expect to spend £150+ onsite during an event, and with the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) reporting average total attendee spend of £483 per head, it becomes clear that spending power exists. The challenge is how to create a unique, premium and highly engaging retail experience at your event to leverage spend and increase revenue.
Field and Lawn provide merchandise marquees and pop-up shops to some of the UK’s largest festivals, concerts and outdoor shows across the UK and have considerable experience in designing temporary shops that make the most of the available space. This article draws on our experience of designing and installing a wide range of temporary merchandise and retail activations giving you the most effective, practical ways to level up your merchandise marquee.
Increase visibility of your merchandise marquee
Traditional retail offers valuable lessons that can translate directly into a high-performing event merchandise marquees and pop-up shops. Firstly, consider the location of your merchandise tent, prioritise high-footfall areas, near arena entrances and exits, beside high-throughput bar marquees, and close to main pedestrian routes. You can draw further attention to your pop-up by installing banner rails with bespoke signage just like the solution we provided for WOMAD Festival.
The right marquee layout can improve throughput, reduce operational bottlenecks and create a more enjoyable and immersive retail experience. Your entrance is the single biggest factor influencing whether guests decide to step inside or walk past. Can you safely offer an insight and display some of your products outside. The Oxfam shop used this tactic well, together with large and clear signage.
A wide, well-positioned and well branded entrance immediately increases opportunities for guests to step inside. In our experience, a conical marquee can create the ideal entrance area to a merchandise marquee. Their high peak roof and premium aesthetics will make your merchandise offer stand out from the other temporary event structures in the area. To make the most of your pop-up shop entrance, we recommend:
• Using wide double doors or an open-front marquee to remove barriers.
• Position the doors or entrance points where the main footfall route naturally flows.
• Add clear, elevated banner rail signage visible from a distance.
Premium interiors increase dwell time
Some festival shops feel temporary however, with the right marquee specification options you can create a retail experience that is fit for the high street in a field. Our top picks for premium shops include linings, including blackout linings, cassette flooring, full event carpeting and high bay lighting to spotlight products. A great example of this specification is the merchandise tent we installed at Download Festival. You will see a clever use of linings to create a zoned and atmospheric structure, a unique feature of stacked amps provided a clever display giving height and interest and an unusual seating area gives premium feel, with subtle nods to the iconic Download brand.
Focus on unique experiences
We also love this example of the co-op festival shop featuring a live DJ to keep the festival vibe strong! These small specification and premium interiors transform the structure from a simple marquee shell to an immersive retail destination.
Marquees designed by Field and Lawn use external branding, welcome fascia boards, wide double doors and smartly positioned entry points to pull footfall into the structure. Inside, retail-standard LED lighting, illuminated feature walls and elevated signage ensure that high-value products become focal points.
Internal marquee layout to drive revenue
One of the most frequently used layouts organisers use when setting up a merchandise marquee is a simple linear layout. This means guests enter at one end, walk along a single aisle, and exit at the other. In a retail setting, while this seems tidy, it’s actually one of the least effective designs for browsing, dwell time and sales. Straight-line, “down-and-back” merch tents limit browsing and shorten dwell time as guests feel the need to pass through quickly. Instead, create a natural loop or department style “shop-floor” that showcases more products and encourages longer browsing.
You may want to consider a higher marquee capacity to strike a balance between throughput to reduce queuing time for other shoppers. An alternative option to increase throughput is to create an open sided merchandise structure, allowing for quick and easy transactions and a high throughput, perfect for a busy festival. A fully enclosed retail tent will create a more intimate experience. We deployed both a premium enclosed retail tent and a quick service open fronted shop at Download, to provide the optimum retail experience.
Fully Branded PVC merchandise marquees
If you are planning on working with a marquee provider over a long-term contract, or even wish to purchase the PVC yourself, a complete custom branded tent will make your pop-up shop stand out. A bespoke branded merchandise marquee creates a polished, professional high-impact retail presence. We can brand entire tents or provided print on gables to help you’re your brand front and centre. These structures offer a weatherproof, secure and visually striking environment temporary structure. Here is a recent example (left) of a fully branded merchandise tent at Southport Flower show and a solution GL events UK installed for the Co-Op.
Stock storage marquees
With any large customer facing retail operation comes a need for safe, secure and waterproof storage. In addition to the main pop-up shop, we can supply a storage marquee with the capacity to warehouse stock for the duration of the event.
The Marketing Managers Top Tip...
Many events are increasing using mobile apps, while this is predominantly used for lineups and to communicate essential safety information, consider how push notifications can drive merchandise sales. For example informing festival goers of special offers, popular products or times when the merchandise tent is quietest to ease congestion.
Ready to level up your merchandise marquee?
Our expert Project Managers will work with you to design and specify your merchandise marquee, pop-up shop or retail tent, setting your event up for commercial success. To kick start your project, contact us today…
