By Roxanne Foidonikolas
Introduction
As a small business owner, finding new and innovative ways to put your products in the hands of customers is exciting but also challenging. A pop-up shop is an effective opportunity to engage with potential and current customers in person, while simultaneously boosting sales.
Pop-up shops give your customers the chance to interact directly with your products and brand, creating a connection that online platforms cannot replicate.
So, whether you are an experienced seller or an ambitious entrepreneur, use this comprehensive guide to help you succeed in your upcoming pop-up shop.
What is a Pop-Up Shop?
A pop-up shop is an ideal opportunity for emerging digital brands to experiment with a temporary retail space. Also known as “instant retail,” it allows you to meet your current customers where they live and place your brand in front of new customers.
Pop-up shops are also a direct way to encourage sales without having to spend more money on acquiring customers online. While pop-up shops can look like regular stores, many brands use them to create a unique and engaging physical shopping experience.
If you are interested in testing a physical presence for your business but are hesitant about the financial risks and ongoing commitments of a permanent store, a pop-up shop may be the solution for you.
Benefits of a Pop-Up Shop
Creating a Personal Connection with Customers
While technology makes buying more cost-effective and convenient, there is no substitute for face-to-face service and personalized shopping experiences. A physical store allows you to connect with your customers on a human level and build a network of loyal and engaged customers.
Building Buzz and Awareness
Scarcity is a proven tactic that prompts customers to act through their desire to buy exclusive or limited-time products. A temporary shop for a limited time encourages customers to visit before they miss out.
This strategy works particularly well when promoting new products or collections, launching major campaigns, or simply when you want to raise general awareness of your brand.
Balancing Customer Acquisition Costs
The pandemic forced retailers to shift their marketing budgets online, leading to skyrocketing customer acquisition costs through paid search and social media. However, as e-commerce grew, the gap between digital acquisition costs and rental costs has decreased.
Rising commercial real estate vacancy rates have led to commercial rent prices dropping to record lows—37.5% lower than they were in 2019 in places like the Soho district of New York City, according to CBRE. To address vacancies, store owners eased lease terms and eagerly sought temporary tenants just to keep their storefronts active. According to Reuters, in New York City, the residential real estate market has rebounded, but commercial rents remain low compared to pre-pandemic levels.
There is still an opportunity to test the retail waters and diversify your marketing to include urban foot traffic alongside web traffic—in a low-risk and lower-cost environment.
“In the future, physical impressions will be more costly and of higher quality than digital impressions,” says Ben Siegel, founder of Neyborly.
How to Set Up a Pop-Up Shop in 4 Easy Steps
Choosing an Event Space
It is important to find the right location for your pop-up shop. There are several factors to consider, and one of the most important is determining what type of space makes the most sense for your event. Here are some commonly used shared spaces for pop-up shops:
- Vacant commercial space: A vacant commercial space is a retail selling area just waiting to be utilized. All you need to do is customize it to fit your brand. Look for vacant commercial spaces in your ideal area or contact a local real estate agent for assistance.
- Shopping center
- Shared spaces: Shared spaces are stores within a store and are a great way to leverage the success of an existing physical brand. For example, the Pop-in@Nordstrom store is a chain of collaborative pop-up shops with other brands like Away luggage. Hotels are also a great location for pop-up shops.
- Event/exhibit space: Unlike pop-up stores, event or exhibit spaces provide a blank canvas to convert your digital brand into a physical space showcased with eye-catching displays. These spaces are also ready for events, unlike some traditional retail environments.
- Mobile store: If you don’t want to limit yourself to one location, consider going mobile and renting a truck or bus to host your mobile pop-up store. In 2016, the Casper Nap Tour traveled from Vancouver to Toronto, giving customers all over Canada the chance to test their mattresses. This opens up the opportunity to work in different locations and maximize reach – you can set it up at a farmers market, park, or any public place you think your customers will regularly visit.
Shopping or mall: Many shopping centers offer kiosks and empty spaces in stores for rent. The mall space may be less expensive compared to other locations, but it can put you in front of the best type of traffic – customers looking to spend their money.
Choosing Your Pop-Up Store Location
After determining the type of pop-up store you want, you can start pinpointing the location. Knowing your store’s goals is another important factor to consider.
If you are looking to launch a new line of swimwear, the ideal place might be tropical areas or near the beach. If you are trying to determine whether you should permanently transition to physical retail, use your current sales data (if you have it) to figure out where most of your existing customers are located.
Once you have a general area in mind, look at some other factors that will help you pinpoint the exact location.
Nearby retail stores and events are other things to consider. See if the surrounding retail stores are complementary or competitive to what you offer. Complementary is good, but you might want to avoid direct competitors.
When established shop owners feel threatened by competing stores, you lose the opportunity for potential alliances. Introduce yourself and build a good relationship with other shop owners in the area. You can gain valuable insights on what makes your target audience tick from them.
Finally, one of the most important factors is foot traffic. Is the area or street you’re looking at high traffic? Are there many people passing by the location you’re considering, and most importantly, are those people your target customers? Ultimately, it’s about who your customers are, where they are, and how they want to be shown to.
Determining Store Type and Exterior and Interior
Here are some additional factors to help narrow down your location options:
Type of Pop-Up Store
First and foremost – you need to define the type of event you will be doing and understand what makes it appealing to shoppers in a pop-up store. There are some common types of pop-up stores:
- Press preview: Usually a press preview is for local journalists and bloggers who can help spread the word about your store.
- Launch party: Pop-up stores are perfect for launch parties, whether it’s the grand opening of your first store or the launch of a new product line. Remember, if you are promoting it as a party, you need to deliver on that promise. You might consider hiring a DJ, providing food and drinks, and enhancing engagement via social media to boost your reach.
- Experience:
- Attract visitors with immersive experiences they can’t get anywhere else. Think about the types of workshops, speakers, and individuals that work best for your brand.
- Instagram Star Party: Leverage the audience of an Instagram star in your niche by allowing them to host and coordinate and be the “star” of the night. Ask them to generate curiosity before the event by posting about it on social media, and consider this opportunity a collaboration that ends with substantial returns for both parties. They get a unique chance to meet their audience – and their audience becomes your audience.
- Sponsorship Event: While there’s a marketing aspect to all events, some events have a unique locale for growing word-of-mouth marketing. For example, a partnership with a local magazine in your field can provide pre-event, during, and post-event coverage of your pop-up store.
External Factors
- Facade: Does the store have a pedestrian walkway and traffic? Is the facade large enough to manage pickup orders from the sidewalk easily? These are important factors for pop-up store spaces in the coming months.
- Signage: Check if the location you are considering comes with signage and if you are allowed to customize it. There may already be prominent entrance signs or exterior signage that may prevent people from noticing your store. Some spaces may not allow signage at all. Determine what you need and how customers will find your store.
- Condition and Cleanliness: Typically, space owners ensure that the interior of the temporary space is pristine, but the exterior may be affected by the weather. You will likely need to take responsibility for its cleanliness. Sit there with a broom, bring potted plants, or invest in a glass cleaner to remove any remnants on the windows of the venue.
- Parking and Public Transport: The easier it is to visit your store, the more customers you will have. On-site parking is ideal, but it’s not always practical. So create access in any way you can. Research public transportation routes, check meter rates and hours, and look for nearby paid parking options.
Internal Factors
- Browsing Space / Square Footage: Ensure that the space is large enough to allow shoppers to browse comfortably without colliding with others.
- Internet Access: Wi-Fi service is usually included with most spaces, but check with the leasing agent to confirm the availability of high-speed internet. This is crucial for your point-of-sale system to function smoothly, but it’s also important for your customers to browse your online sales channels while exploring your physical store. This also means you can equip your sales representatives with mobile point-of-sale systems to help them access customer files instantly and customize the in-store shopping experience.
- Storage Space: Visible inventory can make even the largest spaces feel crowded, so make sure there is storage space. Many spaces may not have a back storage room, so check if you can create a temporary partition or divider using curtains or a room divider. This will make the space look more professional and tidy.
- Lighting: Setting the right lighting creates ambiance and makes your products stand out. The right lighting for your store ultimately depends on the mood you want to create. If your brand is more modern, bright lighting might work. Soft lighting suits brands with a classic theme. Check if the bulbs come with dimmer switches or if portable lamps and lighting are available as alternatives.
- Features
Theft Prevention: According to the National Retail Security Survey by the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, 37% of the decline in sales is attributed to shop theft and crime. Look for a commercial space that has adequate theft prevention measures. Surveillance cameras and alarm systems are great tools for deterring theft. If there are no cameras in the retail space, check if other tactics were used by previous pop-up shop merchants.Display Space: Every space is different, so make sure the place you are looking at is equipped with everything you need to showcase your products or materials.
Sound System: Music is important for setting the mood in your store. It’s a big bonus if the space is equipped with a sound system. If not, make sure to bring your Bluetooth speakers and conduct a sound check before opening.
Booking Your Pop-Up Shop Space
You can contact real estate agents directly to see if they have any spaces
Source: https://www.shopify.com/guides/ultimate-guide-to-pop-up-shops/why-run-a-pop-up
Leave a Reply