FAIRE MARKETS—

An alternative to wholesale trade-shows

Faire Markets are biannual online trade-show events hosted by Faire, offering the best seasonal deals from a diverse range of wholesale brands. Faire matches discounts up to 5%, helping retailers save and brands sell more. Attendees also gain insights from industry leaders, trend forecasters, and merchandising experts—all from the comfort of their shop or home.

As the lead designer on this 0-to-1 initiative, I collaborated with a product and engineering lead, and a team of front-end and back-end engineers to bring Faire Markets to life for the first two seasons.

Since the inaugural Summer Market, Faire has hosted nine global markets, facilitating over 2 million brand orders and 730,000 new brand-retailer connections . These virtual trade shows have generated over $250 million in GMV and saved retailers more than $12 million, continuing to offer a convenient way for retailers to stock their shelves and forge new connections.

Faire began in 2017 with a simple vision: to help small businesses come together to compete on a more level playing field with the likes of Walmart and Amazon.
Today, Faire is the online marketplace where retailers discover their next bestsellers from independent brands across the globe.
As the inaugural lead product designer, I played a pivotal role in defining, executing, and scaling Faire Markets.
In just six weeks, we conceived and launched a comprehensive end-to-end event experience that laid the groundwork for all future markets. Beyond creating the initial design, I was responsible for crafting a compelling vision for Markets and evangelizing that vision across the company.
My role was crucial in coordinating the efforts of diverse teams, ensuring alignment and synergy across functions such as product, engineering, marketing, sales, and product operations to bring these events to life.
Since its inception in 2020 we have hosted eight, bi-annual Faire Markets, responsible for driving over $250 million in global GMV to the business.
In addition to our success, past events have saved retailers over $12 million in inventory costs and have facilitated 730,000 new relationships between brands and retailers.
Forbes ⏐ Faire launching virtual tradeshows to help keep local stores alive

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The origin story of Faire Markets

At the onset of the pandemic, independent brands and retailers faced significant challenges. With tradeshows canceled and retail disrupted, key issues emerged:

Retailers lost a crucial channel for discovering new products.
It became harder for retailers to build unique offerings without strong brand relationships.
The wholesale buying process became fragmented, lacking the networking and sourcing opportunities tradeshows once offered.

In response, Faire accelerated initiatives that had been years in the making, with a clear objective: to support our customers in sustaining their businesses and livelihoods through this uncertain time.

By mid-March, we had shifted our focus to prioritize features that provided new alternatives to traditional tradeshows, empowering retailers and brands to adapt to the changing landscape and re-evaluate the need for tradeshows moving forward.

The problem space

Research

Understanding traditional tradeshows

To recreate the unique experience of a traditional tradeshow, we first analyzed what made these events special. We engaged with brands and retailers to understand the value tradeshows offer, what’s lost in their absence, and how Faire could bridge the gap.

Our research identified three key themes:

Tradeshows create a 2-3 day immersive experience that benefits both brands and retailers.
They are the primary venue for retailers to make seasonal purchases, spurred by brand discounts.
Beyond sales, tradeshows are essential for building and strengthening relationships with customers.

Custom brand identity and theme

We strategically transformed the website for a limited time to deliver a "wow" factor and ensure the virtual event was as impactful as a live tradeshow. Our approach balanced maintaining key elements and pages while introducing a fresh and distinctive feel.

To achieve this, we developed a comprehensive branding system that could be seamlessly applied across all core components of the event and scale for future markets. This system featured custom color palettes, logos, icons, and playful organic shapes, designed to become interchangeable staples within the branding framework.

Seamless promotion setup for brands

To participate in Markets, brands on Faire only needed to set up a promotion, which we marketed in the promotions tab of the brand portal for seamless participation.

Our biggest task was enhancing promotion functionality with advanced tools, allowing brands to customize promotions with multiple tiers for greater flexibility and impact. We also needed to build the infrastructure for “event specific” promotions on the BE.

To boost participation, we designed a new surface in the portal called an event hub that provides dynamic information based on when brands visit (pre, during, or post-event).

Livestreams to foster community and engagement

One of the most ambitious features we developed was the livestreaming functionality, designed to mimic the educational panels and live talks of traditional tradeshows. We organized two days of programming with global brands, covering topics like brand success, consumer behavior, sustainability, and social commerce. This initiative allowed retailers to stay ahead of trends and build partnerships during a time when traditional connections were unavailable.

We created tools for both brands and retailers: brands could broadcast directly from their phones using a custom app, while retailers could watch and interact with the streams on Faire.com. We also integrated real-time chat and shopping features, enabling retailers to purchase products from featured brands while viewing the livestreams.

The best deals of the season all in one place

To replicate the benefits of traditional trade shows, we created a comprehensive shopping experience on Faire.com centered around promotions. We introduced an interface for browsing market specials, filtering by criteria, and discovering brands by category. Prominent badging and an updated UI highlight promotion details across brand pages, the shopping cart, and checkout.

We also added a "market list" feature for retailers to save and review brands of interest. These features have become essential to our seasonal markets.

Evolution of Faire Markets

Since the inception of Faire Markets in 2020 we have hosted eight, bi-annual events responsible for driving over 250 million dollars in global GMV to the business.

In addition to our success, past events have saved retailers over 12 million dollars in inventory and have facilitated over 730,000 new relationships between brands and retailers achieving our original mission to help foster connection and new relationships for our customers worldwide.

Since their launch, markets have largely maintained their structure which is a testament to the strong foundation, success, and vision we created with the first market. The iterations have been focused on 1) enhancing profitability and efficiency and 2) transitioning markets to a “cruise control” state that is playbook and doesn’t require additional product investment.

“Faire has been helpful in forging relationships between retailers and international brands. We keep going back for all of these amazing products we may not have found otherwise.”

— April Gabriel, the owner of Boston General Store

“Faire Markets have been a total game-changer for us! We’ve had the opportunity to share so many products with an ever-growing, diverse community of retailers.”

— Erin Maurer (Itzy Ritzy, Brand on Faire)