More new brands, more product discovery and new ways to buy, learn and connect as Autumn Fair opens at the NEC from Sunday 6th September, with Glee joining from Tuesday to create Europe’s largest buying event for home, gift, garden, and fashion.
The doors to Autumn Fair 2026 open on Sunday, bringing the retail industry together at the NEC Birmingham for four days of product discovery, buying, networking and practical business insight at one of the most commercially important moments in the retail calendar.
From Sunday until 9th September, buyers can discover new collections and proven bestsellers across Gift, Home, Fashion, Beauty & Wellbeing, Greetings, Kids, Toys & Play, Jewellery & Watch, Fashion Accessories, Food & Drink, and Retail Services, with the show providing a crucial opportunity to make final buying decisions, react to what is selling and refresh ranges ahead of the Golden Quarter.
This year the opportunity becomes even bigger. Glee joins Autumn Fair on 8th – 9th September, creating a combined buying event spanning home, gift, fashion, garden and outdoor living. Across the two shows, more than 1,250 exhibitors, 500,000+ products and 20,000+ buyers will come together at the NEC, opening up significant new cross-buying opportunities for retailers looking beyond their traditional categories.
It is an audience with real buying power: 80% of the combined Autumn Fair and Glee audience has purchasing power, while 70% operates physical stores, bringing together department stores, multiples, independents, garden centres, visitor attractions, online businesses and specialist retailers.
Matthew Mein, Event Director at Autumn Fair & Glee, said: “There is a fantastic energy around Autumn Fair this year. Retail is changing quickly, and we’ve really thought about how the show can help buyers respond, whether that’s discovering an emerging brand, getting practical advice for their business, exploring new technology or seeing completely new ways to reach customers. There’s a huge amount for retailers to experience over the four days, alongside the thousands of products and collections they come here to discover. And with Glee joining us from Tuesday, there are even more opportunities to explore categories they might not traditionally buy into. We can’t wait to welcome the industry through the doors.”
For retailers searching for their next bestseller, newness is one of the biggest stories of Autumn Fair 2026, with more than 25% of brands new to the show and over 30% exhibiting exclusively at Autumn Fair. Across the show floor, buyers will find an extensive mix of established industry leaders, returning favourites and emerging businesses spanning every major retail category.
The Home destination showcases everything from occasional furniture and textiles to decorative accessories, artisan homeware, premium gifts and outdoor living, with Home, Living & Décor sitting alongside the carefully curated The Summer House destination area of trend-driven homeware. Fashion meanwhile offers independent retailers an important second buying opportunity, with womenswear, menswear, footwear, jewellery, bags and accessories enabling buyers to top up, react to what’s selling and add newness once the season is underway, rather than relying solely on decisions made months earlier. New for 2026 is Food & Drink, bringing gourmet gifting and edible treats onto the show floor.
Discover the next bestseller
For retailers, discovering what’s new, what’s next and who is emerging is one of the most valuable reasons to visit Autumn Fair. With consumers constantly looking for something different, independent retailers need products that help them refresh their offer, create reasons to visit and differentiate from the competition.
At the heart of this discovery are the newly renamed Product Pavilions, dedicated destinations designed to spotlight emerging brands, fresh product launches and retail-ready innovations across Gift, Home, Beauty & Wellbeing, Greetings, Party & Celebration and Fashion. From sustainable and purpose-led products to wellness, experiential gifting and innovative new concepts, the Product Pavilions give buyers a focused route to the brands and ideas that could become their next bestsellers, while buyers looking for proven innovation can head to the Gift of the Year Showcase, featuring winners of The Giftware Association’s Gift of the Year 2026 Awards.
Follow the Trend Trails
Helping buyers make the most of their time on the show floor, Autumn Fair’s Trend Trails provide an easy way to identify suppliers aligned with key retail opportunities and sourcing priorities. Look out for the dedicated Trend Trail symbols in the Show Guide highlighting exhibitors across Made in the UK, Licensed Product, White Label, Export Ready, B Corp Certified and Also on Faire, making it easier for buyers to find relevant businesses, discover new suppliers and shop with intent.
For buyers, September provides a particularly valuable opportunity to source reactively. Independent retailers are increasingly buying later, looking for greater flexibility and seeking distinctive products without overcommitting too far in advance, making Autumn Fair an important opportunity to top up proven sellers, discover ready-to-ship stock and identify products capable of driving sales through Christmas and into early 2027.
Fashion’s next big names step into the spotlight
Product discovery moves from the stands to the stage on Sunday morning with the first Pitch Live competition of Autumn Fair 2026.
At 11am, emerging Fashion, Accessories & Jewellery brands will pitch their products live in a Dragons’ Den-style session on the Counter Talks Stage, hosted by former M&S, Next and Tesco buyer and Retail Huddle founder Ami Rabheru.
The judging panel includes fashion designer Jeff Banks, Estella Arroyo, Head of Design at George at Asda, and Sharon Good, Founder and Managing Director of Good Results PR, giving buyers a fast-track opportunity to discover potential future retail stars.
Pitch Live continues with Home & Gift on Monday followed by Toy, Play & Kids Clothing on Tuesday.
Come for the products, stay for the knowledge
Pitch Live is just the start of an extensive four-day programme on the new Counter Talks Stage, created to give retailers free, practical insight they can take back to their businesses.
Across the show, experts from Google, Faire, Retail Huddle, BIRA, Buy Women Built, George at ASDA, Buying & Beyond, Licensing International and more will tackle everything from AI, digital growth and social commerce to retail crime, visual merchandising, licensing, buying, customer loyalty and consumer trends.
Alongside the stage programme, retailers can access complimentary 30-minute 1-to-1 Mentor Sessions in The Clubhouse, receiving personalised advice from experts including John Abbate, Samantha Gibbs of Nest, and Buying & Beyond founders Katy Norton and Lynsey Abbott on issues ranging from buying and merchandising to store design, sales and commercial strategy.
The Clubhouse in Hall 9 provides a dedicated members’ retreat for buyers, offering a space to meet, network and recharge between appointments, alongside exclusive events, workshops and complimentary amenities. This year it will also become a working live commerce studio through Autumn Fair’s new partnership with Whatnot. Throughout the show, visitors can watch experienced Whatnot sellers go live, see products being showcased and sold in real time and speak directly to the team about how live selling could help their own businesses reach new customers and build communities.
On Monday 7 September, the Whatnot Takeover After Party from 4pm–8pm, offers buyers and exhibitors the opportunity to go live themselves with one-to-one support from the Whatnot team, alongside food, drinks and a DJ.
AI changes the way buyers navigate the show
Technology is also transforming the buying experience this year, with Autumn Fair and Glee partnering with Alibaba.com’s Accio as Official Agentic AI Partner. The free AI-powered event assistant has been designed to help buyers find relevant products and brands, create personalised exhibitor shortlists, plan efficient routes around the show and build tailored agendas. Buyers can even upload an image of their shop, display or window and ask the technology to recommend exhibitors and products suited to their retail style and customer demographic.
Autumn Fair has also partnered exclusively with Faire, bringing physical and digital wholesale buying together so retailers can discover products in person at the show before using Faire’s online marketplace to continue buying year-round.
Autumn Fair puts the future of Britain’s high streets on the agenda
As thousands of independent retailers come together in Birmingham, Autumn Fair is also using the show to build momentum behind a national campaign calling for a minimum of 90 minutes’ free parking in town and city centres across England. The campaign, Support Free Parking. Back Local Businesses. Bring People Back, centres on a Parliamentary petition calling for parking to be recognised as part of a wider strategy to increase footfall, support independent businesses and strengthen local economies. Read more here.
The campaign follows findings from Voices of Retail, produced by Spring & Autumn Fair in partnership with Faire, which revealed that 38% of independent retailers believe free parking would have the greatest positive impact on their business, while 63% of consumers say free parking would encourage them to visit town and city centres more often.
Visitors will see the campaign brought to life across Autumn Fair, with opportunities to scan a QR code and sign the petition throughout the show.
Autumn Fair takes place at the NEC Birmingham from 6–9 September 2026. Glee takes place from 8–10 September, co-located with Autumn Fair on 8–9 September.
Sunday, 6 September – 9:00 – 18:00
Monday, 7 September – 9:00 – 18:00
Tuesday, 8 September – 9:00 – 18:00
Wednesday, 9 September – 9:00 – 16:00
All exhibitors and visitors to Autumn Fair & Glee benefit from free parking at the NEC.
For more information and to register, visit www.autumnfair.com / www.gleebirmingham.com
