The concept of a retail pop-up event has become commonplace with brick-and-mortar retail as a whole shifting toward being increasingly experience-driven. High street retailers are, as such, placing greater emphasis on the activity and interior space of their shop over the more traditional consideration of product availability. For the customer, this means that shopping is becoming less about browsing products and more focused on enjoying brands.
Pop-ups are an effective way for retailers to engage customers. Between brand immersion and generated buzz, the return on investment is clear, with successful pop-ups even going unexpectedly viral, receiving an otherwise unachievable level of advertising for a high street brand. To show you, here are five reasons why retail pop-ups are more popular than ever.
Trial New Products
Pop-up experiences, whether in-store or on the high street, are an effective way for retailers to gauge interest and reaction to new products. Launches can be as small or large as needed, with contained events being an ideal environment to accurately gauge the impression a new product has upon potential customers. They can also be a great way to allow a limited number of products to reach customers, generating demand via product scarcity.
Adjust And Assert
Retail branding is an ongoing journey and, while core values stay the same, messages can change. This could be due to a seasonal focus or an entirely new direction for retailers. Regardless of the motivation, pop-ups can be an ideal way to swap out old retail shelving and furniture to bring in fresh and exciting alternatives. Doing so regenerates customer impressions of a brand and its quality.
Seize Social Media
By far one of the most important advertorial tools of the modern retail landscape, social media should be a continuous goal for retailers. Pop-ups are, by the nature of their limited run and exciting concepts, a great way to generate social media buzz. The design of such events should be visually appealing, with customers encouraged to share their experiences online. This could be of a single product or an entire themed shopping experience. Regardless, retailers should be speaking not only to individual customers who attend but also to those potentially looking online too.
Increase Demand
Pop-ups can quite easily dominate the high street. Customers are generally curious and the intrigue of participating in a retail event is by default quite exciting. As such, retailers should be motivated to host events to increase demand, drawing attention toward their shop space with the view to gaining more long-term customers.
Test New Grounds
Retailers that are looking to expand do well to test the potential viability of a new shop space with pop-up events. Such endeavours work not only to gauge local interest in a more permanent presence of a brand but also to generate such interest, creating a buzz in the area for the presence of a new shop space. Collaborations are also a popular method of pop-up, with retailers reaching out to complementary brands in the area to establish themselves as a familiar presence before committing to taking on a shop space.
