No Longer Just a Retail Trend, but a Way to Build Traffic and Brands
They began popping up in the bleak days of the last recession when shopping was dormant and retail vacancy rates reached 13 percent. Their focus was typically seasonal and their leases were temporary but they helped many a retail property manager survive the downturn. But the pop-ups didn’t fade away when the economy bounced back. In fact, these stop-gap stores have evolved into a $10 billion industry that some retail trend watchers say can help bricks and mortar merchants counter their online competition.
Pop-Up Retail: Custom Made for the Experience Economy
No longer just sellers of Halloween costumes or holiday decorations, pop-ups now provide innovative, sometimes daring, ways for retailers and brands to lure shoppers (especially experience-seeking Millennials) away from their screens. These temporary retail outposts sprout in urban centers, in malls, galleries and public spaces and in unexpected venues like barges, buses, even shipping containers. Known for pushing the envelope of retailing, they rely on the elements of novelty and surprise not associated with traditional stores. Read more: http://popupinsider.com/pop-up-phenomenon/
By now, virtually every brand category has at least dabbled in pop-up retailing. From big names like Nike, Reebok, Levi’s and Samsung to avant designers like Comme des Garcons to newcomers like Etsy artisans, looking to test the market, all have gone the pop-up route. Target has used the pop-up concept repeatedly for cause marketing and to promote its top product lines. eBay stepped out of the virtual world with Showhouse pop-ups decked out in furnishing and accessories available for online bids. Then there’s the Meow Mix Cat Cafe for cats and their humans, which set up temporary residence on Times Square. The creativity shows no sign of stopping.
Traditional department stores have joined the pop-up phenomenon too. Nordstrom turned the concept around with Pop-In @ Nordstrom, where select branches play host to new designers and product purveyors, some chosen because they are usually unavailable in the local market.
What Makes Pop-Up Retail So Hot? Fun and Exclusivity
With their ingenious presentations and unexpected venues, pop-ups offer something absent from the typical shopping experience: fun. When Pop-Up Republic, a specialty marketing and management company, conducted a recent survey, they found that 30 percent of pop-up customers were looking for fun in their shopping experience. Besides fun, pop-ups deliver a sense of exclusivity. Merchandise is often new to the market, making buyers the first to own it. And since the stores operate on a temporary basis, opportunities to acquire merchandise or experience the environment are time-limited –also contributing to a sense of exclusivity. Read more:
https://www.shopify.com/enterprise/91139206-why-pop-up-shops-are-the-future-of-physical-retail
Besides generating sales, pop-ups are attention magnets, capturing both news coverage and social media comments. Marketers are increasingly making them an integral component of their overall advertising initiatives.
More than a Retail Trend: Count on Pop-Ups to Keep Popping Up
Yes, those temporary tenants from a decade ago have morphed into a thriving sector of the retail industry. They are supported by specialty architects and designers like Lion’Esque Group, global consultants like Retail is Detail, and real estate firms like Storefront that match pop-up retailers with available space. And having put fun into shopping, they may be just the boost the old bricks and mortar world needs right now.
