Autumn Fair: Live commerce is coming to the trade show floor

As live commerce increasingly moves beyond social media and into the physical retail landscape, Autumn Fair is responding to the shift in a new partnership with live commerce platform Whatnot to give retailers and brands a closer look at the format.

The partnership will see Whatnot take over part of the buyer-focused Clubhouse in Hall 9 throughout the show, where visitors can watch sellers host live shopping sessions, demonstrate products and interact with audiences in real time.

The activation will also include a Whatnot Takeover after-party on September 7, allowing retailers to try live selling themselves with support from the platform's team.

The move reflects the growing prevalence of live selling as an additional route to market, particularly for independent retailers and brands looking to reach new customers and build communities around their products.

Whatnot claims to hold almost 60 percent market share across the UK, US and Europe, with UK sales up 281 percent year-on-year and the number of UK sellers increasing 360 percent over the past year.

In a statement, Matthew Mein, event director at Autumn Fair and Glee, said: “Live commerce is one of the most interesting developments in retail right now, and we wanted to give our visitors and exhibitors the opportunity to experience it for themselves.”

By bringing live commerce directly into the trade show environment, Autumn Fair is positioning the format as more than just another digital trend to observe, but something retailers can experience and potentially adopt, The fair takes place at Birmingham's NEC from September 6 to 9.