A pop-up shop is a temporary retail space that offers a unique, multi-day shopping experience, lasting from a few days to a few months. Pop-up shops serve a multitude of purposes including generating excitement around a brand, product, or service and testing the viability of new marketing, but maintain a unique purpose, especially for digitally native brands, giving them a space to engage with customers face-to-face, provide personalized experiences, answer questions, and gain valuable feedback.
Karolina Swietoniowska, Founder of Blue Jean Creative event agency and more notably to this community, Founder of League of Originals, shares her insights garnered from 10+ years of experience bringing people together IRL in a meaningful way.
Establishing Your Goals
First things first, you have to establish clear goals and objectives. When all is said and done, what’s a win? “If your only goal is sales, don’t do a pop-up. You can sell more online,” emphasizes Karolina. But as a curator of events, the benefits of thoughtfully curating a pop-up is endless, including:
- Touch & Feel. While online shopping provides convenience, it lacks the tactile element of physically interacting with a product. For example, if you are a skincare brand, it’s hard to translate how something feels on your skin or what smells a product may be available in. If you’re a clothing brand, customers can test how a product fits or feels, and compare different products side by side, aiding them in making informed purchasing decisions.
- Community Building. In a digital-first world, we often lose sight of the value of IRL connection. Physical interactions can create emotional connections between new customers and products, fostering brand loyalty and generating positive word-of-mouth promotion. Memorable experiences curated with existing customers in mind can leave a lasting impression on customers, fostering loyalty and encouraging repeat business. Beyond potential customers, pop-up spaces are a great way to partner with influencers or other like-minded businesses, leveraging each other's audiences and expanding their reach.
- Content Creation. A well-designed pop-up shop can immerse customers in the brand’s identity and result in a visually appealing and (most importantly) Instagram-worthy space where you, customers, influencers, and the broader community can share content further promoting your product or offer. Consider using creative displays, interactive elements, and unique backdrops that people can engage with on-site and share this content with your broader community who may not be able to partake in live
- Supporting Your DTC. There are on average 6-8 touch points before a customer converts. Think of your pop-up as an extension of your omnichannel marketing ecosystem. With the right on-site elements such as, QR codes for email and SMS sign us, or product giveaways for new Instagram followers, you have the potential to collect people’s information and bring them into your funnel.
Tips For Producing a Pop-Up on A Budget
- Location, location, location. The location of your pop-up shop is key, so it's important to choose a location that is affordable and that will attract your target audience. If you’re a more established brand with a cult following, you can likely host a pop-up in a not-as-heavily trafficked location because people will come. If you’re an emerging brand, you’ll want to consider investing in a high-traffic and convenient location, in proximity to other like-minded brands. You can also consider partnering with other brands to find a shared space to split costs on to mutually benefit from awareness and cross-promoted foot traffic. Once you've found a location that you like, it's time to negotiate the lease. Be sure to get everything in writing, including the rent, the term of the lease, and any other terms and conditions.
- Don’t skimp on what counts. People will remember a poor experience. The key elements Karolina advises against skimping on include overhead and design. The personnel that staffs your pop-up need to understand the brand and be approachable. On the design side, consider how your online brand translates to an in-person experience. It can be minimal, but it must be thoughtful and it must succinctly communicate your brand story. Design elements can be rented or purchased, with custom builds posing the highest costs.
- Source sponsorships. Using sponsors to offset pop-up costs can be an effective strategy to reduce the financial burden while also providing benefits to your customers. Bring in other food and beverage partnerships who want exposure to your audience and offer promotion in marketing materials and on-site.
- Find complementary brands to join in and split costs with you. This may be the most impactful tip. You don’t need to do this alone, and chances are if you’re a small brand you probably shouldn’t. Collaborating with other brands that fit your vibe and ethos will not only make the popup more interesting, but you’ll be able to cross pollinate audiences and produce a popup for a fraction of the price.
Promoting Your Pop Up
This strategy is just as important as the popup itself, what you do before and after the activation makes all the difference between a successful popup and a flop.
- Create Exclusivity for VIPs. Prior to opening your pop-up, invite your most loyal customers, influencers, or friends and families to have first access to the space. Encourage content creation and promotion to ignite “FOMO” amongst your broader community and build anticipate for the grand opening
- Leverage Owned Channels. Leverage the power of your owned channels including email and social to promote your upcoming event including relevant details and any programming they can anticipate to build additional excitement. Your owned channels should also be leveraged after your pop-up to re-engage any leads generated on-site.
- Generate Added Value via Events. An event and a pop-up shop are two distinct concepts, though they can sometimes overlap. While temporary in nature, events encompass a broader range of happenings, while pop-up shops specifically refer to temporary retail spaces that offer unique shopping experiences. Using your pop-up location to produce events can attract new and diversified audiences and sustain regular foot traffic if your pop-up is open over a longer period of time. Consider hosting events regularly including happy hours, fireside chats, coffee talks, and influencer shopping days as potential programming ideas.
There are a number of online tools that can help you find a pop-up space. Some of the most popular tools include:
- Peerspace
- Storefront
- PopUpShopUp
- WeArePopUp
- GoPopUp
- PopThisPlace
- Uppercase
- Bulletin
- Appear Here
- Neyborly
So don't fear- start small, test the concept, get realtime feedback and scale as you go. Happy creating!