The Ultimate Guide to the Pop-Up Shop

Looking to run a pop-up shop but not sure where to start? We have put together a mini how-to guide that will help make your temporary retail experience a hit with your target market. Even as consumers have turned to online retail in droves, curiously the pop-up trend has only grown – with everyone from Google to Adidas and Prada embracing it.

How To Budget For Your Pop-Up?

Ensure return on your investment by planning a rock solid pre-post-and during digital, social and media amplification plan with your agencies. ‘Build it and they will come’ is a risky maxim. Along with rent, you’ll also need to consider staffing, insurance, design and kit out, entertainment and audio visual – lighting, heating and bathrooms are often not a given in pop up venues so should be considered!

How To Pick The Perfect Location?

You’ve nailed down your goals and your budget, now the fun begins right.. Firstly however you must decide on the type of Pop-Up you want. Is it a shop within a shop, a Pop-Up within a gallery or event space, a Pop-Up in a shopping centre or a Pop-Up in the increasingly popular vacant street level space (i.e. empty shop front). There are certain restrictions when deciding on a location and these tend to differ based on cities.

One of the most creative and fun aspects of running a pop-up shop is managing how the Pop-Up Store will look. This is everything from the signage, window display, visual merchandise right down to the in-store customer engagement pieces such as a Social Wall etc. This part is probably the most important to get right. After all, Pop-Ups are cool so so should yours right! Our tip would be to start with a theme and run with that throughout, create a focal point, pay attention to lighting and generally just keep it simple! Keep the experience in mind…

PS: Bear in mind that you want people taking photos from your shop and sharing them on social media, so always try and incorporate some stylish photo ops in the design.

Brand Ambassadors

Be sure to source the right brand ambassadors. Their appearance and personality will make an impression on your consumer. After all, they are the face of your brand for the duration of the Pop-Up.

Be Different

Always remember that a Pop-Up is an opportunity to so something different. Don’t let it just be a normal shop. Give away freebies, get social, create an experience, test new products, have live demos, put yourself out there…

How to market your Pop-Up Shop!

It is so important to have a Pre, During and Post marketing plan for your Pop-Up. Here is a topline breakdown of what we would recommend

Pre

• Teaser Videos across Social Media Platforms. Instagram and Snapchat stories are perfect for this.
• Competitions to engage audience pre launch (Win tickets to launch night)
• Paid Media Partnerships to improve on reach
• Invite only press and influencer preview
• Set up a Facebook event page

During

• Use Instagram, SnapChat & Facebook stories
• Engage with social media influencers – their reach can be incredible!
• Create Geo-targeted ads on social media
• Create a unique hashtag
• Continue to run competitions
• Create a CTA for user-generated content
• Go Live!

Post

Time will fly and soon after you begin, you’ll have to start tearing down that grand pop-up store of yours.

• Thank customers who shared photos
• Record the dismantling of the Pop-Up
• Share some Throwback images/videos (keep the spirit alive).

Pop-up shops are here to stay and they’re fueling the retail revolution day by day. They offer brands the perfect opportunity to make a flash appearance and engage with customers that they might not have otherwise.