Also known as “guerilla stores, flash stores or
ephemeral stores”, pop-up stores are gaining their place amongst brand retail and distribution channels. They appear unannounced, then disappear and morph into something else. Moreover, these stores attract and stimulate customers, create a sense of exclusivity and generate positive word of mouth.
The
adoption of pop-up stores can yield many positive returns to brands as they help them meet communications or sales objectives:
- Pop-up stores can be adopted to test a new concept, product line, location or market
- In comparison to the costs of setting up a traditional physical location, pop-up stores could help brands conceive creative concepts and control the cost of setting them up
- Brands get to personally meet their audience, to exchange and collect viable data from them
- Pop-up store give pure players the possibility to physically meet their audiences
- Pop-up stores could serve brands meet sales-related objectives and generate important cash flow during a short period
- Brands can appear “right in time” of an event or “just in time” for a season and deliver relevant products or services to the target audience
- A pop-up store adds value to the brand’s touchpoints and helps in enhancing the omnichannel experience
Start-up brands or mature brands can adopt these exciting retail formats. Guided by a clear strategy,
pop-up stores are agile tools that help brands meet their specific short-term or longer-term objectives. Given the prevailing retail environment’s situation, pop-up stores could provide many solutions; to name a few: serve as a merchandise collecting point, a controlled physical location that compensates store closure on the high street or in malls, an experiential touchpoint that immerses and engages customers or even a “meeting place” where brands and their tribes get to meet.