Museum Shop Sunday an ‘important date’ on sector’s retail calendar

Billed as the “gentle antithesis” to the shopping frenzy of Black Friday, Museum Shop Sunday is becoming an increasingly important date for museums looking to promote their retail offer in the run-up to Christmas.

The event takes place on 26 November this year and will see more than 2,000 museums, galleries and heritage institutions participating worldwide – expected to be the highest number since the event launched in 2017.

Museum Shop Sunday is coordinated in the UK by the Association for Cultural Enterprises and is part of an international movement including Museum Store Sunday in the US.

The association says the celebration aims to highlight the vital role that retail plays in helping cultural venues to survive and thrive, as well as supporting small businesses and independent makers.

 “Museum Shop Sunday supports arts, cultural and heritage attractions and the products in a museum gift shop are more likely to be unique, local and ethically sourced,” says Joanne Whitworth, media and communications manager at the Association for Cultural Enterprises.

“These retail spaces often support small businesses and independent makers as well as introduce customers to the joys of hand-made, artisan gifts, and often, the unique stories that sit behind them. Most retail and commercial spaces will know the exact provenance of the products on sale and they really help to champion sustainability and the local supply chain.”

A broad range of cultural and heritage sites will be taking part this year, offering discounts, special activities, meet the author events and hand-crafted goods that are unavailable elsewhere. 

“It’s more important than ever to create a visitor and retail experience that is relevant to our customers,” says Kieran Whitworth, manager of book buying, merchandising and trade sales at the Imperial War Museum North in Salford. 

“We are on track to achieve over £5m in retail spend across our estate this year. It is a huge part of our income, particularly as a number of our museums are free of charge […]

“It has been a tough few years for the sector. We still haven’t seen the return in visitor numbers to pre-pandemic figures and we have the twin problem of ensuring good value to our customers, who are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. Meanwhile, we are being squeezed by suppliers going through an equally tough time, rail strikes have impacted our numbers coupled with a wash-out summer.”

Whitworth says Museum Shop Sunday has become an important part of the museum’s retail calendar.

“The more sales we can generate the better but it is very important to us that we offer stock that is well-made, ethical, sustainable as well as good value for money, such as our popular ‘The Future is Female’ range,” he says.

“Museum Shop Sunday is an important part of our annual calendar and we have lots of added value activities such as ‘meet the author’ sessions and children’s workshops and it’s a wonderful way to introduce new audiences to our collection.”

The National Portrait Gallery will be sharing Museum Shop Sunday offers with its Instagram followers including the Christmas gifting and new Hockney exhibition, Drawing from Life, featuring Harry Styles.

“Since the gallery reopened in June we have on-boarded more than 50 new suppliers who are local to the UK, each with their own incredible stories and products,” says the gallery’s buying and product development manager, Ed Simpson.

“We think it is important to recognise these businesses and provide them with a platform to reach new customers.”

Full details of what’s on and how to participate can be found on the Association for Cultural Enterprises website.