What Is the Value of Pop Up Shops?

Are you looking to grow your physical presence but can’t afford the cost or are not ready for the commitment that comes with the retail store? Pop up shops for rent may be the solution you need. Research shows 70% of all retail purchases take place offline. Pop up shops are an affordable way for businesses of all kinds to set up a physical presence that allows them to meet customers and put brands before customers.

This post looks into the value of pop up shops for rent to businesses and why you should consider running one. Let’s dive in:

Creating awareness and building a buzz

Let’s face it, there are too many businesses competing for the attention of customers. Therefore, you need to put some effort into promoting your brand or products to potential markets with the view of increasing brand awareness.

By setting up a pop up store, you will ride on scarcity, a sales tactic that often drives action by arousing customer’s desire to purchase limited or exclusive products. This is because the temporary nature of the pop up stores mean they only run for a definite period thus shoppers are encouraged to visit the store or ‘miss out’ on the discounts. This often creates a sense of urgency.

But that is not all, you must also invest in the promotion of the pop up to not only build a buzz but ensure that there will be people coming through the doors once you launch. This means promoting your store on various social media platforms and sending a broadcast to your subscribers. This way, you will get people talking about your brand thus increasing awareness.

Promoting an in-person connection with your customers

Most consumers prefer to make purchases after seeing and touching products. Consequently, most online purchases are preceded by physical interaction with products. The reality is that while ecommerce stores present convenience, they don’t come close to face to face interaction and in-person experiences shoppers have when they go to a physical store.

Having a pop up spacerent will enrich your omnichannel experience while allowing your customers and prospects to learn about your products at the store, on social media, in print media and through search engines as well as other channels in between. The offline experience will certainly complement your online experience thus helping you strengthen brand loyalty and customer engagement.

Driving more sales

Although you can open a pop up store at any time of the year, it is even more advantageous when you run a pop up store during busy seasons like holidays. Setting up a pop up store during the holiday season will particularly work for you when it comes to driving sales because this is a time when more people spend more than they normally would. Moreover, a 2017 Retail Dive report found that more than 84% of sales during holidays take place in-store.

But this does not end here. You will be surprised at how much sales your pop up shopt will drive long after the busy season is over. Moreover, you may also realize that you’re turning most seasonal shoppers into loyal long-term customers by simply having that in-person connection.

Testing new marketing and gaining traction within current markets

Before launching a new brick and mortar store, you will want to validate demand. This will only happen where there is money changing hands. This also applies when you want to launch a new product but want to test a new market.

You can manufacture a small batch of your products and bring it to the pop up as a way of validating customer demand before you can continue with mass production. This can work when you also want to launch a new collection and want to see if they will have traction.

The experience of selling your yet to be launched products in person often gives you the advantage of receiving direct feedback, seeing their reaction and knowing how much they are willing to spend on the product. In the case where your ecommerce store is already established and you have a thriving customer base within certain regions, you could use pop up stores to go where customers are or to target a new geographical area.

Pop up shops offer endless value for businesses that are seeking to expand their market and sales in general. However, you must be strategic to ensure that these shops help to consolidate your customer base without having to spend so much money on customer acquisition.