Pop-ups have surged in popularity in recent years, and it’s easy to understand why. With retail space at a premium and online retailers looking for a brick-and-mortar presence, pop-up shops have become a tried and tested business strategy. It’s no secret that pop-up shops can help fuel consumer engagement. Below are seven ways brands can leverage pop-up shops to make an impact with consumers.
Go to Where Your Customers Are
Instead of investing in a long-term physical retail space, go where the buzz is! Pop-up shops are installations which activate for short periods of time, so their maintenance costs are significantly lower than a traditional retail space. You can choose a space that fits your brand the best.
The location of your pop-up shop is arguably the most significant factor to consider. With very little time in public, pop-ups must be located in areas that will attract the right attention at the right time. The pop-up concept has been adopted by small boutiques and giants including the Pop-in@Nordstrom series, which provides consumers with a wide variety of offerings that Nordstrom might not otherwise carry.
Connect with New Customers
When you’ve strategically thought out and selected the location of your pop-up shop, you’re likely to engage with consumers who are willing and able to make a transaction with your brand. Pop-up shops are a great way to build brand awareness in a short period of time through experiential means. You can introduce consumers to your brand in a fully immersive experience, where an individual can sample and interact with your products, share on social media, purchase or just have a conversation to learn more.
One of the biggest examples of this is Microsoft, which leveraged pop-ups to help customers better understand their new surface tablets.
Establish Yourself as a Brand Leader
With so many brands competing for attention, sometimes it can be challenging to stand out from the crowd. Pop-up shops allow brands to establish themselves as leaders in sight of consumers who may be unaware of the brand’s activities. Many times consumers are unaware of what the brand is all about. All brands want to be known for something. What is it that consumers gain from your experience in particular? How will they be able to better understand your brand through this experience?
Lead Generation
It’s not all about what you’re doing here and now. Often you will want to create a way for your newly found customers to contact you later online, be that social media, email updates or your website. Make it easy for them, they shouldn’t have to ask. It’s a good practice to have kiosks or tablets available for customers to connect with your brand digitally on the spot.
Crowd Source Your Social Media Content
Pop-up shops provide consumers with a unique opportunity to take photos and share their experience with friends and family. Help them frame it in a way that’s photogenic, which you’ve designed. Curate and brand your content opportunities where applicable. People love to take photos and post to social channels, especially in cool settings, so give them one!
Offer an Indirect Service, Be Purposeful
Not all marketing activations or pop-up shops need to be directly selling your product but rather give a nod to your brand’s style, perhaps by introducing a movement via your brand. The Movember Foundation, for example, is an organization focused on promoting men’s health and in many cases would be an appropriate addition to an event to not only raise awareness for the foundation but help promote a brand for men by providing haircuts and hot shaves. It’s a win, win.
Haircuts, blowouts, hot shaves, massages, nails, whatever it is, make it authentic and relevant to the brand.
Market Your Shop Around Sales Cycles
In the nature of temporary stores and pop-up shops, you can tap into sales cycles such as the holidays, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, etc. Leverage these opportunities to sell more merchandise with a pop-up shop. When you select a location to sell during these events you’re most likely going to get the most foot traffic and thus more sales. Harness the seasonal cycles to maximize profits and exposure.