On the 24th June, I was stood in a muddy field with roughly 100,000 other festival goers singing my heart out to Lewis Capaldi and Lizzo on the Pyramid Stage. The whole weekend was a fantastic experience, definitely worth the ticket price.
If you’ve seen the clips of Lewis Capaldi’s set floating around online, I’m sure you can tell what a great atmosphere it was in the crowd: everyone got behind Lewis and supported him through what was clearly a pretty difficult moment. Lizzo put on a fantastic party, bringing her classical flute skills and energetic dancing to the iconic stage, alongside a wholesome and inspiring message of self-love. It was a totally different set to Lewis’s – but one I enjoyed just as much.
However, 7 months ago, when I purchased my ticket for Glastonbury Festival, I had no idea who would be on the line up. Neither did the other (roughly) 2 million people who attempted to get a ticket. Based on 2022 data, there was a less than 18% chance of securing a Glastonbury ticket this year. So, what is it about this particular festival which means that so many people want to part with a lot of money to go to, despite not knowing who will be performing?
I think there are a number of reasons. The festival has a history of booking an amazingly wide range of acts, meaning there is something for literally everyone. Pretty much every musical genre is covered. I listened to a great set by a man who sang about his favourite food – marmite sandwiches in case you were wondering – his favourite athlete, Beth Tweddle the gymnast (duh), and also covered the Postman Pat theme song.
It’s about more than just the music. There’s also a huge range of activities to enjoy including a circus tent, jewellery making, charity shopping, face painting, hair salons, fitness classes, massages, meditation, clubbing and carnivals, and that doesn’t even scratch the surface. All these activities contribute to this unique but shared experience.
But it’s not just about what you can do there, or who’s performing. Over the years, the festival seems to have created an atmosphere that just doesn’t exist elsewhere. Most people who attend are repeat visitors, and the sense of community is unlike anything else I’ve experienced. A small but intensely populated city is formed on Worthy Farm, and it’s the feeling of being a part of that which brings people back every single year (despite there being no proper toilets!).
Retailers could follow Glastonbury’s suit and generate excitement by creating communities, fostering a great culture, spreading a fantastic message – all strengthening their reputation. As I said above, Glastonbury is about more than just music, and this translates nicely into the retail industry. There’s already proof that customers engage better with brands that offer more than just a shopping environment. By creating exciting, customer-centric concept stores, retailers are offering their clients a hub of activity – somewhere they can spend time and enjoy activities other than, or as well as, shopping. Take the new Gymshark store on Regent Street as a great example – shoppers can enjoy gym classes and smoothies in store (read our blog about it here!). Creating multi-purpose retail spaces creates a stronger bond between retailers and their shoppers, resulting in higher rates of customer loyalty and satisfaction. I appreciate this is not simple. Obviously there are some huge differences between running a festival and a retail company, but this shouldn’t stop retailers from using Glastonbury as inspiration. At the end of the day, it’s all about creating a memorable experience – both at the festival and on the shop floor.