Article

Five steps for staging a successful pop-up shop

Many pop-up shops are thrown together at the last minute, and often, it shows.

May 19, 2014

By Janet Valenza, president of Pop-Up Artists

So many pop-up shops are thrown together at the last minute and they look that way. Yet they eat up money, probably more than you think, once you add all the associated costs together. Here are five steps to help plan your pop-up shop to get the most return on investment.

1. Write down your marketing goal. Be specific.

Target customers in a new geographic area where analytics show e-commerce website activity. Get new customers in a completely new market segment. For example, do the pop-up in an airport to reach a new international segment. Or, introduce a new product line that is not selling up to expectations online. Pop-up shops are about more than selling stuff during the holidays.

2. Determine where the customer is and when.

If, for example, you want to introduce a licensed wedding gown line, consider locating a pop-up near a wedding trade show. Alternately, consider a shop-in-shop pop-up where cocktail dresses are sold. In other words, don’t start with the real estate — start with the customer. Be creative when considering partnerships and co-retailing concepts. You don’t necessarily need your own storefront. Another option in urban areas is the increasingly common luxury marketplaces.

3. Plan to identify, and capture, all traffic data on potential customers and market to them whether they buy during the pop-up shop or not.

It’s just as important to start a relationship as it is to make a sale. Think about how you will identify every pair of feet that walk through the door, whether they buy or not. An incentive coupon is an effective way to drive these potential customers to your website.

But what else can you learn about them? Try to determine why they visited your store in the first place. Then segment and personalize your follow-up emails. The important thing to consider is: How will you begin a relationship after they leave the store?

4. Create a design and merchandising plan that maintains brand impact on a lower budget.

This involves five key elements: layout, lighting, freestanding fixtures, color and texture. By analyzing your brand using these five key elements you can maintain brand impact in the pop-up shop with a smaller budget. First, consider how to present your product line with the floor layout.

The next critical element is lighting. So many pop-ups are poorly lit, which kills the entire in-shop experience. For displays, you’ll want something freestanding — something that does not attach to the wall, such as a rolling rack for clothing. If you have a colorful logo, pick up that color in the shop. Paint is cheap and so is digital printing.

Last but not least is texture. What does that mean? Shine, fur, straw: Textures communicate surface and touch to create emotional brand impact, within budget.

5. Identify a project manager and line up all outside resources to execute effectively.

This is critical. Appoint an employee, or identify an outside expert to act as your in-house resource. To execute a pop-up well might require bringing in resources from 10 industries or more: real estate brokerage, architecture (permits), carpentry, information technology (wi-fi, mobile, etc.), furniture and fixture rental, high-end staffing, security, insurance, social media, public relations, etc. Get someone in place with the experience to manage all these vendors. When are the I’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed, pop-up stores can add a human touch to the customer experience, deliver valuable market data, along with social media buzz and, most importantly help to grow your business.