What Buyers Really Want: Insights from Top Drawer’s Retail Community

Buyers Want Curation, Not Clutter

Today’s buyers are time-poor, margin-conscious and under constant pressure to differentiate. Faced with endless choice, they no longer want to sift through average — they want to be guided straight to the exceptional. A highly curated show floor has become a decisive factor in whether a buyer attends, returns and places orders.

Top Drawer’s S/S26 positioning responds directly to this demand, with a tighter, design-first edit and clearer navigation across seven distinct sectors. The result is faster, more confident sourcing — and stronger buyer engagement. In fact, repeat visitors across Top Drawer S/S, A/W and Home & Gift consistently show high levels of intent, with 88% acting as final decision-makers or playing a direct role in the final buying process.

As consumer tastes shift faster and commercial pressure intensifies, buyers are increasingly driven by discovery that feels worth the risk. They are actively seeking:

• New-season, design-led product

• Authentic, story-rich brands

• Sustainably made, purpose-led ranges

This appetite explains why Top Drawer’s Launchpad exhibitors — and future-facing insights from Better Trends Co. — remain among the most visited and talked-about features on the show floor. Buyers want newness, but only when it comes with context, credibility and commercial relevance.

Buyers Want Confidence Before They Commit

Post-pandemic buying behaviour shows a more cautious, considered approach. While footfall and engagement remain strong, average order values have softened year-on-year — reflecting the need for reassurance before committing to spend.

For buyers, that reassurance comes from physical experience: touching materials, assessing quality, comparing price points and building relationships face-to-face. Trade shows that deliver this tactile confidence continue to outperform purely digital discovery — reinforcing the value of in-person sourcing in 2026.

Product alone is no longer enough. Retailers are navigating AI adoption, social media performance, merchandising challenges and evolving customer expectations — often simultaneously. That’s why features like the Business Hub and the Retail Revealed Live programme have become core drivers of return visits.

Buyers value practical insight, expert guidance and takeaways they can apply immediately — turning time away from the shop floor into tangible business advantage.

Top Drawer scores highly with first-time visitors on overall experience — but data reveals an important nuance. Only 13% of new visitors return the following year, compared to a 42% return rate among existing buyers.

The takeaway is clear: loyalty is built through continued value. Buyers return when shows evolve with them, offer personalised follow-up, and become a reliable sourcing moment they can plan their calendar around — not just attend once.