Companies like Macy’s and Amazon have opened venues specifically for pop-up shops, while others have operated pop-ups outside of a dedicated space, all in the hopes of boosting their performance and that of brick-and-mortar retail as a whole.
And the strategy of opening a temporary store appears to be working, as 80% of global retail companies that have opened a pop-up store said it was successful and 58% are likely to use the tactic again, according to a survey from Storefront.
Pop-ups also don’t have to be expensive — 44% of respondents that have opened a pop-up spent less than $5,000 on it — making it a more viable strategy.
Here’s what it means: Retail companies have found success using pop-ups to build awareness and interest in their brands and products.
- Retailers’ most popular reasons for opening pop-ups are all about growing buzz and awareness of their brands and offerings. Nearly 66% of respondents cited increasing brand awareness as a reason why they launched a pop-up, making it the most common selection. The next two top-selected reasons were connecting with customers (63%) and introducing a new product or brand (46%). Pop-ups are a strong choice for building awareness and reaching consumers, as they stand out and can grab their attention.
- Pop-ups have been most successful at boosting visibility, sales, and social media engagement.The most popular results from pop-ups — respondents picked their top three options — were improved market visibility (51%), increased sales (46%), and more social media engagement (46%). So, pop-ups have garnered consumer attention — and their presence in a new location or a new channel, in the case of e-commerce pureplays, powers this ability.
The bigger picture: Pop-ups can be especially beneficial for e-commerce pureplays because they offer exposure in a new channel and the chance to test-run a physical store, in addition to boosting web traffic.
Temporary stores can be a great stepping stone for e-tailers interested in expanding to brick-and-mortar. Most retail sales in the US still occur in-store, so online brands and retailers should consider finding physical retail opportunities, both to build awareness of their brand and to add a new sales channel. And pop-ups allow them to dabble in brick-and-mortar without having to make the sizable investment that comes with opening and operating a full-time store.
Pop-ups can also allow for a flexible layout, so e-tailers can more easily create a unique in-store shopping experience and figure out how they want to translate their brand to a store. In addition to the physical retail benefits of opening pop-ups, they can also drive more online traffic in the same market.
https://www.businessinsider.com/pop-up-shops-are-an-effective-retail-tactic-2019-6