Table of contents The vendor placement dilemma The pros: benefits of vendor self-selection The...
Selling at events has never been just about showing up with great products. In 2025, that truth became impossible to ignore. We decided to build out this plan, based on our 3 takeaways from our first-ever State of the Festival report.
Across the event industry, festivals, markets, fairs, and conventions didn’t disappear or shrink. Instead, they evolved. Planning timelines grew longer. Competition increased. Event attendees became more selective. Costs rose quietly in the background, while expectations rose loudly on event day.
For artists, vendors, and exhibitors, this created a familiar feeling: opportunity mixed with uncertainty.
At Eventeny, we analyzed thousands of data points across applications, ticket sales, attendance, booth pricing, and operational behavior to understand what actually shaped the year. This blog translates those findings into event vendor insights designed to help small businesses feel prepared, confident, and in control going into 2026.
This is not a trend report for economists. It’s a practical guide for people who sell, build, cook, create, and show up.
Table of contents
- The festival economy in 2025: Stable, competitive, and selective
- Festival vendor trends 2026: What’s changing and what isn’t
- Arts and craft selling trends: Creativity meets strategy
- How to prepare for festivals as a vendor in 2026
- How to choose the right events as a vendor
- Booth pricing, demand, and the real cost of participation
- Attendance, ticket sales, and buyer behavior
- Marketing, visibility, and why paying attention matters
- Tools, technology, and real-time operations
- The human side: Vendor relationships, customer service, and personal touches
- Sustainability, eco friendly practices, and modern expectations
- What a successful event looks like going forward
- Final takeaways for your next future event
The festival economy in 2025: Stable, competitive, and selective
Despite headlines predicting burnout or oversaturation, the event industry in 2025 showed resilience.
Events across the U.S. remained broadly distributed. Community events made up nearly a third of all activity, while arts festivals, food and drink events, fairs, music festivals, conventions, and educational gatherings all held steady. Growth didn’t concentrate into one category. It spread.
That spread matters.
It means vendors are not fighting over a single lane. But it also means event organizers are curating more carefully. Supply and demand are meeting in the middle, and that middle is selective.
For vendors and exhibitors, the takeaway is simple but powerful:
Opportunity still exists, but it rewards preparation over volume.
Festival vendor trends 2026: What’s changing and what isn’t
Looking ahead, festival vendor trends 2026 point to refinement rather than reinvention.
What’s changing:
- Organizers are planning earlier, often six months or more in advance
- Approval processes are more competitive, especially for large events
- Events are experimenting more with layout, programming, and vendor mix
What’s not changing:
- People love attending events
- Live music still draws crowds
- Food, art, and unique products remain core drivers of attendance
What’s emerging is a more intentional ecosystem. Event planners are paying closer attention to balance, flow, and experience. Vendors who understand that bigger picture gain an edge.
Arts and craft selling trends: Creativity meets strategy
Arts and craft selling trends in 2025 showed strong attendance growth but increased competition.
More artists applied to more events, especially in markets and fairs that rebounded strongly after the pandemic. Approval rates held steady overall, but larger and higher-profile events accepted fewer applicants by necessity.
This does not mean there is less room for artists. It means:
- Presentation matters more than ever
- Clear branding and storytelling help your application stand out
- Understanding the target audience of each event is critical
Artists who treated applications like submissions, not paperwork, performed better. Those who matched their work to the tone and audience of a specific event saw stronger outcomes both in acceptance and post event sales.
How to prepare for festivals as a vendor in 2026
One of the most common questions we hear is: How to prepare for festivals as a vendor when everything feels more competitive?
Preparation in 2026 is less about doing more and more about doing earlier and smarter.
Key preparation strategies:
- Apply earlier than you think you need to
- Track which events convert into strong sales, not just good vibes
- Budget realistically for booth fees, travel, and staffing
- Build flexibility into your inventory planning
Vendors who prepared early reported less stress on event day, better communication with event organizers, and stronger vendor relationships overall.
Preparation also means planning for variability. Weather, attendance shifts, and last-minute changes are normal. The difference is whether they derail you or simply require adjustment.
How to choose the right events as a vendor
Choosing events strategically is now one of the most valuable skills a vendor can develop.
How to choose the right events as a vendor comes down to alignment, not prestige.
Ask yourself:
- Who are the event attendees?
- Does this event’s marketing match my brand and price point?
- Is the event planner experienced and organized?
- Does this event historically support small businesses?
A smaller, well-run community event can outperform a massive music festival if the audience aligns with what you sell.
Data from 2025 showed that vendors who focused on fit instead of scale reported better ROI and stronger repeat participation.
Booth pricing, demand, and the real cost of participation
Booth pricing in 2025 followed a clear pattern: demand drives cost.
Most events still offered low-cost or affordable booths, particularly markets and smaller festivals. However, larger events, especially those with live music or high attendance, charged more and consistently filled those spots.
Important insights:
- Summer events supported higher booth pricing
- Events with more vendors typically charged more
- Food vendors paid more than non-food vendors on average
The real cost of a booth is not the fee itself. It’s the opportunity cost of choosing the wrong event.
Vendors who evaluated booth pricing alongside attendance, marketing reach, and audience fit made more confident decisions and avoided burnout.
Attendance, ticket sales, and buyer behavior
Attendance continued to grow strongly in 2025, with ticket sales and on-site traffic rebounding across most categories.
However, buying behavior shifted. Event attendees increasingly waited until closer to the event day to purchase tickets. This affected cash flow for event organizers and changed how vendors prepared inventory.
Events that launched ticket sales earlier saw better engagement and more predictable turnout. For vendors, this reinforced the value of working with organized events that plan ahead.
On event day, attendees arrived later than start times, but check-in processes became faster and smoother, especially at tech-enabled events. Less friction meant more time browsing, eating, and buying.
Marketing, visibility, and why paying attention matters
Marketing carried more weight in 2025 than ever before.
Social media dominated awareness efforts, supported by local partnerships and referrals. Print advertising declined sharply in effectiveness, while digital-first strategies delivered clearer results.
For vendors, this means:
- Visibility is not automatic
- Being featured, tagged, or shared matters
- Paying attention to how events promote themselves helps you predict turnout
Vendors who collaborated with event organizers on promotion benefited from higher foot traffic and stronger engagement. Marketing is no longer something that happens around you. It’s something you can participate in.
Tools, technology, and real-time operations
Technology quietly reshaped how events functioned in 2025.
Organizers using integrated platforms reported higher efficiency, clearer communication, and smoother operations. Real time tools for check-in, payments, and logistics reduced chaos and improved the vendor experience.
Some organizers even used live mapping and cloud-based systems to manage safety, staffing, and operations on the fly.
For vendors, this meant:
- Faster setup and teardown
- Fewer surprises on event day
- Clearer expectations before and after the event
Technology didn’t remove the human element. It supported it.
The human side: Vendor relationships, customer service, and personal touches
Despite all the data, one truth remained constant: people love events because they feel human.
Vendor relationship quality played a significant role in overall event satisfaction. Vendors who communicated clearly, showed professionalism, and delivered strong customer service were more likely to be invited back.
Personal touches mattered. Friendly interactions. Clear signage. Remembering repeat customers. These small details made a big difference, especially in crowded environments.
Post event follow-ups also mattered. Vendors who treated events as relationship builders, not just sales opportunities, saw stronger long-term results.
Sustainability, eco friendly practices, and modern expectations
Despite all the data, one truth remained constant: people love events because they feel human.
Vendor relationship quality played a significant role in overall event satisfaction. Vendors who communicated clearly, showed professionalism, and delivered strong customer service were more likely to be invited back.
Personal touches mattered. Friendly interactions. Clear signage. Remembering repeat customers. These small details made a big difference, especially in crowded environments.
Post event follow-ups also mattered. Vendors who treated events as relationship builders, not just sales opportunities, saw stronger long-term results.
What a successful event looks like going forward
A successful event in 2026 will not be defined by size alone.
It will be defined by:
- Clear planning
- Strong communication
- Aligned vendors and audiences
- Smooth operations on event day
- Thoughtful follow-through post event
Successful events respect vendors’ time and investment. They understand that vendors are partners, not filler.
Final takeaways for your next event
The future event landscape is not unpredictable. It’s simply more informed.
Festival vendor trends 2026 show an industry that rewards preparation, alignment, and professionalism. Event vendor insights point to stability with higher standards. Arts and crafts selling trends highlight creativity backed by strategy.
For vendors and exhibitors:
- Prepare earlier
- Choose events intentionally
- Build relationships with event organizers
- Focus on experience, not just transactions
At Eventeny, our goal is to take complexity out of event sales so you can focus on what you do best. When tools work, communication improves. When planning improves, stress decreases. And when stress decreases, successful events become repeatable.
You don’t need to guess your way into 2026.
You can plan it.
