Tour merchandise is not just a T-shirt with a date list on the back. On a good tour, merch becomes part of the fan experience, a revenue stream, a physical memory of the show and a direct extension of the artist world.
The challenge is operational: what to make, how much to order, what sizes to carry, where to produce it, how to replenish stock and how to avoid finishing the tour with boxes of unsold inventory.
01 / START WITH THE TOUR
Build the merchandise plan around the actual route, not a generic quantity. Collect: • number of dates • venue capacities • expected attendance • countries and cities • transport constraints • venue delivery windows • storage options • available sales space
A 10-date club tour and a 30-date arena run require completely different stock plans.
02 / BUILD A SIMPLE PRODUCT MIX FIRST
More SKUs create more complexity. Every new product creates another set of sizes, stock positions and replenishment decisions.
A focused range can outperform a sprawling one. A practical starting structure might be: • hero T-shirt • second graphic or location-specific T-shirt • hoodie or sweatshirt • one lower-cost accessory
Add products because the audience is likely to buy them, not because the supplier catalogue contains them.
03 / DESIGN FOR THE MOMENT
Tour merchandise works best when it feels connected to the event. Useful creative routes include: • tour artwork • city/date back prints • album/project graphics • limited colourways • venue-exclusive items • artist photography • anniversary or milestone graphics
Fans are often buying the object as a memory of being there. Make the product feel specific enough to deserve that role.
04 / PRICE BACKWARDS FROM THE FAN AND THE MARGIN
Do not price merchandise by doubling the garment cost and hoping for the best.
Calculate: LANDED UNIT COST = garment + decoration + labels + packaging + freight + direct handling costs
Then test retail pricing against: • artist positioning • venue environment • comparable products • margin target • VAT/tax where applicable • card/payment fees • venue commission or merch cut where applicable
A high gross margin on paper can disappear quickly when venue percentages, transport and unsold inventory are ignored.
05 / VENUE MERCH CUTS MATTER
Before a tour begins, understand whether each venue, promoter or concessionaire takes a percentage of merchandise sales and whether that percentage applies to gross or net sales.
Do not assume terms are identical from venue to venue. Obtain the commercial terms before finalising retail prices where possible.
06 / HOW MUCH MERCH SHOULD YOU ORDER?
There is no universal percentage of attendance that every artist should use.
Model at least three scenarios: LOW / BASE / HIGH
For each show: expected attendance × assumed buyer conversion = estimated buyers
Then: estimated buyers × average units per transaction = planning unit demand
Use historical artist sales whenever available. Your own tour data is more valuable than a generic internet benchmark.
For a first tour, assumptions should be conservative and clearly treated as assumptions.
07 / SIZE BREAKDOWN
Do not only plan total T-shirts. Plan the size curve.
Track sales by: • product • size • colour • city • venue
A product can appear to be in stock while the most demanded sizes are already gone.
After the first few dates, rebalance future production and allocations using actual data rather than the original guess.
08 / ALLOCATE STOCK BY SHOW
Do not necessarily put the entire tour inventory onto one van and treat it as one pile.
Create show-level allocations based on: • venue size • expected attendance • historic sales • local demand • upcoming replenishment points
Keep a reserve where operationally possible.
09 / REPLENISHMENT IS A STRATEGY
Replenishment can reduce the amount of stock that has to be committed before the first show.
Instead of manufacturing every unit for the entire tour at once, consider whether production can happen in stages.
This can be especially useful when: • the tour is long • demand is uncertain • the route returns through major production hubs • local UK/EU production is available
The trade-off is production lead time and operational coordination.
10 / INTERNATIONAL TOURING: CONSIDER LOCAL PRODUCTION
For an artist entering the UK, producing part or all of the UK merchandise locally can sometimes simplify logistics.
Potential benefits include: • less finished inventory transported internationally • local venue delivery • easier UK replenishment • reduced pressure on touring transport capacity
The economics depend on order size, product, customs position, freight and schedule. Do not assume local production always wins; cost it properly.
MERCHMODE positioning: COMING TO THE UK? MAKE YOUR MERCH HERE.
11 / SELLING BEFORE THE SHOW
Merchandise can be promoted before doors open.
Use: • artist social channels • email • tour announcements • Shorts/Reels/TikTok • product reveals • limited items
Eligible artists can also connect products to YouTube Shopping surfaces, including video, Shorts and live content, subject to YouTube eligibility and connected-shop requirements.
12 / THE MERCH TABLE IS RETAIL
Treat the stand like a shop.
Make it easy to understand: • clear pricing • visible products • size information • card payment • organised stock • simple queues
The table should not require a five-minute conversation to understand what is available.
13 / TRACK EVERY SHOW
At minimum record: • opening stock • units sold by SKU • units sold by size • revenue • payment method • damaged/comp units • closing stock • venue percentage if applicable
This creates the information needed for smarter replenishment.
14 / CALCULATE MERCH PER HEAD
One useful tour metric is merchandise revenue per attendee.
MERCH PER HEAD = total merchandise revenue ÷ attendance
Track this across cities and venue types. It can help identify where the artist converts particularly strongly and improve forecasting for future tours.
15 / AVERAGE TRANSACTION VALUE
Also track: AVERAGE MERCH TRANSACTION = merchandise revenue ÷ number of merchandise transactions
This helps show whether bundles, premium products or pricing changes are increasing basket size.
16 / REDUCE LEFTOVER INVENTORY
Unsold tour stock is not automatically useless, but it can lose urgency after the tour ends.
Options include: • post-tour online drop • signed/limited bundles • archive store • future shows • fan-club offers
But the better solution is still improved forecasting and replenishment during the tour.
17 / QUALITY CONTROL BEFORE THE ROAD
Check production before stock is distributed across multiple venues.
Inspect: • artwork placement • print colour • garment colour • sizes • labels • quantities • packing lists
A production mistake is considerably harder to correct after stock has been split across cities.
18 / BUILD A TOUR MERCH OPERATING SHEET
Recommended fields: DATE CITY VENUE CAPACITY EXPECTED ATTENDANCE OPENING STOCK SALES BY SKU SALES BY SIZE REVENUE VENUE CUT CLOSING STOCK REORDER REQUIRED DELIVERY STATUS
This becomes the tour's merchandise control centre.
19 / THE MERCHMODE APPROACH
MERCHMODE should be able to receive: • tour dates • artwork • required products • expected quantities • delivery locations • replenishment requirements
and build the production route around the schedule.
The customer should not need to coordinate multiple printers independently.
20 / TOUR MERCH CHECKLIST
Before production: • confirm dates and venue details • confirm product mix • approve samples • cost landed unit economics • obtain venue terms • plan size ratios • define stock allocations • define replenishment points • prepare sales tracking • confirm venue delivery instructions
READY TO BUILD THE TOUR?
Send MERCHMODE the tour dates, expected audience, products, artwork and deadlines.
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