5 Key elements for opening a successful Pop-Up store

Pop-up retail is becoming more popular than ever as retailers of all sizes use small, temporary spaces to expand their footprint and build their brand.

Retailers that are compelled to deploy a pop-up are often driven by the desire to introduce a product, expand their brand into a new market, test a new strategy or capitalise on an event. Overall, companies should have a compelling reason or objective to create a temporary space, and they should identify their goals and determine how they will define success.

Here are five key elements to open a successful pop-up store:

It goes without saying that the location of your pop-up store is critical for it to become a success. Low levels of footfall are out of the question. The benefits of a pop-up store is with it being temporary, you have the flexibility to move it to different locations, should one location be poor performing. Some of our customers will choose a pop-up store located in another store, at event spaces, in shopping centres or in vacant street-level retail outlets.

“Store-in-a-store” locations are best for retailers or brands seeking to reach a highly relevant and specific customer. The benefits of taking this route is that the pop-up can usually gain higher engagement with a bigger audience and with a smaller footprint. Depending on the agreement with the host retailer and the benefit they’ll attain from the pop-up, it could also mean lower expenses for you.

Pop-ups are also growing in popularity within shopping centre spaces. The advantage of being located in a busy mall is that the pop-up gets in front of consumers who are already shopping and ready to buy. This can be a good option for a pop-up that needs more space for products and wants to be separate from other retailers. We recommend that when you are selecting a location, consider footfall traffic and property performance. Larger shopping centres offer a variety of options from available store space and open floorplans to carts and kiosks.

Take Your Store to the Next Level - Other things to consider include other notable nearby retailers and public accessibility. Within the space itself, some important factors include lighting, access to Wi-Fi, electrical infrastructure and the availability of backspace for stock if needed.

It’s essential that the pop-up store layout and customer experience fits your brand and market. The most successful pop-ups often have a niche focus or timely product to market, or they may be timed to a seasonal need, event or audience.

Think beyond the boundaries of traditional retail and use space, technology and content to design a store that complements the brand. Some industry-specific examples include:

• Nike opened a pop-up shop in downtown Cleveland in October to sell exclusive LeBron James tees, jerseys and three different versions of the Nike LeBron 15 sneakers

• Amazon teamed up with Calvin Klein on a number of holiday-themed pop-up stores in Los Angeles and New York

• Ikea opened small pop-ups in Kuwait and Jordan that use virtual reality and large digital displays to entice customers to design a room and visit a full-size nearby store

By designing pop-up experiences that fit into your overall brand, companies will be able to pique shoppers’ interest if they are already familiar with the product. It is also an avenue to attract new customers that may be curious about the brand.

The most successful pop-ups create a unique and interactive experience. A pop-up can offer an opportunity to deliver a higher level of interactive technology and customer engagement not found in traditional retail.

Many retailers are using pop-up spaces as a hybrid retail model to create more intimate relationships with their customers. It is a great idea to get creative and think beyond simply selling your products: Aim to educate, enhance the relationship, learn more about their needs and deliver compelling content. Use the pop-up as a marketing tool for the brand to learn about customer behaviours, experiment with new strategies and offer on-site services or amenities.

Deploying the right technology is probably the most important aspect of running a successful pop-up store. One of the real things to consider with your pop up store is that with limited space, you'll need the right technology from EPOS to connectivity to be as effective as possible and to ensure you provide a compelling customer experience. Rich digital media and custom content can be broadcast on digital signage to engage consumers in the store, to high-quality and robust EPOS systems that allow you to take reliable payments from customers without the risk of downtime.

As you would with permanent physical stores, traffic counting and smart screens can be deployed to learn more about foot traffic patterns and how consumers move about your store. Data can be collected to not only improve conversions in the pop-up, but also be used to enhance the experience back at the traditional store. Before integrating data capture technology, retailers should consider what information is most beneficial to the organisation and what type of hardware is best suited for application needs.

Some of the world's largest retailers use KFP services to take the hassle out of installing the pop-up store technology themselves knowing that when they use KFP they are getting a leading service and top-class products from the world's leading vendors.

It takes more than just building a pop-up store to attain success. Retailers must still market the location and give consumers a compelling reason to visit. Effective marketing strategies can include demonstrations, live events, performances and visits by notable guests.

For a connected pop-up store, retailers can also use the existing technology to also push marketing efforts beyond the space. Creating incentives to visit such as limited edition products and social media experiences can also be effective.

Overall, pop-ups present plenty of opportunities for retailers to engage with today’s consumer in a variety of new ways. With these environments, companies are able to test new products, build interactive experiences and cultivate their brand beyond traditional retail setups.