“New, fun, engaging and intriguing”, Yes, it’s a pop up and it’s not going to be there for long. These temporarily open spaces showing off a particular line of products have gained popularity in recent years.
Data-rich, hyper-customized mini-store installations let brands reach customers directly, often bypassing traditional retail channels. Retailers can test new products, and markets and explore opportunities with potentially lower risk. As the owner of Abra, a retail fit-out company in Dubai, I throw light on why pop-up culture is set to flourish in the years to come.
Creates a sense of urgency
‘Here today, gone tomorrow’ creates excitement and gets people curious as to what’s trending in these impermanent stores. Flexible and quick set up of pop up venues in a range of configurations can remain in place for days, weeks or months. Also, as customers know such stores come and go in a flash it creates a sense of urgency to explore or buy before it goes.
Exhibit seasonal trends
Seasonal pop-ups are a great way to immerse buyers in unique tech-enabled experiences during the buying process. The product demonstrations, trials, Augmented reality (AR) experiences, face-to-face interactions and queries answered on the spot allow shoppers to get in, relax, check out and get going on. As they reduce the strain of seasonal or festive shopping, pop up stores attract more customers and grow business faster.
Test waters with low risk
Whether expanding to a new city, testing new products or targeting new market segments, pop-up stores are a lower-risk way to gain traction and connect with customers. The very nature of pop-up shops offers brands the opportunity to build marketing muscle for their business — all without having to invest a great deal of money compared to standalone stores.
Low-cost, high impact
Though pop-up shops are a cost-effective and desirable sales strategy to test brands they are high impact too. Unique and engaging pop-ups get customers singing their praises to friends and family and even on social media. Immersive experiences with Augmented Reality (AR), bold signage, eye-catchy fixtures and more within are redefining retail spaces and luring more shoppers to their world.
Exciting experiences
As fancy flexible set-ups, pop-up stores are creating excitement for shoppers, yielding valuable insights and building trust – all in one platform. Reinventing space to a great degree, these venues give customers a refreshing and interactive experience, which is what most customers look for when buying luxury brands.
Instagram-worthy shots
In a tech-savvy era, where people enjoy sharing amazing moments or happenings as posts or stories on their social media handles, these Instagram-worthy spots give them every reason to go online. Easy-to-navigate touchscreens, friendly robots, augmented reality to large screens and scenic backgrounds make customers feel comfortable and special and create moments worth sharing.
I strongly believe that pop-up stores showcasing exclusivity are going to rule in the future. From striking ‘What’s On’ interest to enabling a more enduring brand relationship their fleeting presence will evoke shoppers’ buying action like never before.
Anand Kumar, Managing Director at Abra