Pop-ups can give retailers new power in this uncertain market. Here’s why
Hero image: Zaha Hadid Architects's 2018 Il Makiage pavilions in New York. Photo: Paul Warchol

Pop-ups can give retailers new power in this uncertain market. Here’s why

The latest #FrameLive event gave the stage to Melissa Gonzalez and Richard Kylberg, who made a multi-faceted case for the future of physical retail – pop-up style.

2020 has seen city-centre stores either shuttered or severely limited in their ability to engage customers. To make matters worse, much of their clientele has fled to the suburbs or beyond. At a time when brands find themselves unable to interact with consumers on home turf, what role can temporary retail play in closing the gap? Is the pop-up 2020's most important touchpoint? These questions and more formed the basis for our #FrameLive panel discussion with Gonzalez, founder and CEO of the New York-based experiential retail strategy and pop-up design company The Lion’esque Group and Kylberg, managing partner and founder of Blink, which specializes in retail innovation and design. Here are main takeaways from the conversation.

HARVESTING FERTILE TESTING GROUND

Gonzalez pointed out that one of the reasons that the pop-up is such a valuable format today is because many retailers and brands with national or global footprints are having to consolidate the number of their locations. ‘It’s about recognizing that not every city, state or location serves the same purpose or needs the same thing: some need a destination 12 months a year – sometimes that needs to be a flagship, sometimes a smaller format. In other cases it’s not justified to be there 12 months a year, but is critical at key times.’ Pop-ups provide that flexibility.

There’s going to be so much testing going forward because we’re still trying to figure out where consumer behaviour is going to normalize

Beyond that, they give businesses the opportunity to test out ‘a new partnership launch, new technology, the viability of a city or simply a new format’, she exemplified, and ‘there’s going to be so much testing going forward because we’re still trying to figure out where consumer behaviour is going to normalize. ‘It’s a great way to have that public-facing focus group, so that you can learn about what’s resonating with people, performing well and figure out what you want to invest in as you go down the path of signing long-term leases again.'

THE TRANSACTION OF EXPERIENCE

‘If you simplify retail it’s basically the idea of turning traffic into money,’ explained Kylberg. ‘If you If you think about that, and we think about pop-ups, we have to ask ourselves: Will pop-ups help us in building more traffic that's relevant, or convert more money? If it doesn’t, it’s not the answer. Picture yourself as a 21-year-old girl sitting out in the suburbs, with access to the whole world through digital devices. She’s online with her friends – what will drive her to go into the city and check out a pop-up from a brand? You have to add something that's unique to the experience of the space. That dimension has to be there and it has to be thought about in a scalable way. If you don't generate relevant traffic. . .if it's not a great experience, it's going to die.’

If you don't generate relevant traffic. . .if it's not a great experience, it's going to die

‘The purpose of a store isn't just the transactional aspect, especially as we're being empowered more and more to shop through our phone, to order from Amazon,' Gonzalez said. Stores are becoming a point of storytelling, a point for consumers to step into the lifestyle of a brand.’ Merchandising is an important tool in carving out these points. And, in this market, she argued, ‘we have to be more intentional about curation and merchandising strategy. It's not about capacity per square foot – it’s about experience per square foot.’

No alt text provided for this image
A shot from Baz Luhrmann's 2013 film The Great Gatsby, which Gonzalez used to illustrate her vision of how things will be when the pandemic comes to a close. 'After the Spanish flu, we had the roaring 20s. . .The Great Gatsby was born. And it was a booming era. There's so much pent-up demand. Of course, we've had tragedies and there are economic challenges. This is an extreme measure: obviously stores themselves aren't going to look like this. But I see it from an energy point of view.'

TAPPING INTO RETAIL’S EMOTIONAL SIDE

Gonzalez and Kylberg both agree that, in this era, retail needs to feel human. Kylberg shared that questioning how to ‘make life easier for, entertain and engage, and surprise and inspire’ people is essential to the pop-up process. ‘It’s also about fostering a sense of belonging. Asking how we can connect people is very important.’ That’s certainly a challenge today, when the ability to physically come together is restricted. Even still, Gonzalez thinks, ‘that craving for human connection will never truly go away. Now, we’re just iterating on it. That’s the state of today: asking how we [layer in the feel-good part of retail] in a way that feels safe, but still kind of satisfies our human needs. The emotional side is what really drives the industry.’

Pop-ups done well give the opportunity to unlock fans. And fandom is really what drives success

‘People don't want to just have transactional experiences after this, they want to go back to what we had, but to have even more: they want to go to events – to have a cultural moment,’ Gonzalez reflected. It’s why she believes that considering what the marketing strategy is going to be for a pop-up from the get-go is key. ‘Are you tapping influencers, are you hosting events? Are you maybe doing in-store collaborations during your pop-up shop with a cool coffee vendor, for example? You can't look at strategy and design in different silos. They need to work together to create a successful experience. To me, pop-ups done well give the opportunity not to just serve your customers, but to unlock fans. And fandom is really what drives success for a brand or retailer.’

'We work with a client in the energy drink sector,' said Kylberg. They use micro-influencers and grow so fast. These micro- influencers maybe have up to 10,000 followers, but they create the pop-up around them in different type of sports outlets and the like. The power of that is amazing.'

'We work with a client in the energy drink sector,' said Kylberg. They use micro-influencers and grow so fast. These micro- influencers maybe have up to 10,000 followers, but they create the pop-up around them in different type of sports outlets and the like. The power of that is amazing.'

No alt text provided for this image
'We work with a client in the energy drink sector,' said Kylberg. They use micro-influencers and grow so fast. These micro- influencers maybe have up to 10,000 followers, but they create the pop-up around them in different type of sports outlets and the like. The power of that is amazing.'

ON INFLUENCERS AND INVESTMENTS

Even the pandemic inducing a huge surge of e-commerce purchasing will not obliterate physical retail, thinks Kylberg. He posited the selling power of micro-influencers –and not-so-micro influencers, like Kim Kardashian – as an opportunity for physical retail to become a sort of ‘commercial theatre’, giving these players a dynamic stage to attract traffic. ‘[This movement] is driven from the grassroots, not the powerful brands. Retailers should consider applying YouTube logic to their thinking: think about the algorithms and the content. If it’s great content – if it's relevant – people will come. What I mean is to make the algorithms work for you.’

Retailers should consider applying YouTube logic to their thinking

In Gonzalez’s experience, this question is a prominent one right now, with brands considering whether investing in micro-influencers – who have ‘smaller but really engaged audiences’ – or mega stars has the potential to leave the greatest impact. ‘It depends,’ she explained. As far as pop-up investment goes, she noted that ‘it's not just about looking at the four-wall profitability for its duration’. Teams need to ask what their vision of success is – what it is they’re measuring. That clarity will provide more points-of-action and KPIs to evaluate. ‘Tracking all of those elements [such as the presence of new demographics and boosts in cart size and e-commerce traffic, etc.] gives a greater understanding of the contribution that a physical retail experience had on your brand.’

‘[When it comes to commerce], it’s not an apocalypse,’ continued Kylberg. ‘There are many brands that are having heydays right now. And it’s because they understand the “power of the many”, this new logic about driving relevant traffic. I think for more established brands it may be it's hard to understand – maybe they don’t want to understand – because they were the “big bears” in the old world. But now it's a new world. And you have to embrace it – to be curious, and discover together with your clients.’

WATCH THE FULL TALK HERE:

Courtesy of Frame Magazine: 25.11.20 - article written by Lauren Grace Morris.


Chloe Elliott

Moving forward very fast. New home, new job, new opportunities.

4y

Kind of heading Space Age here Tim... very very smart.

Sarina Stokes

Founder and CEO "we are big friendly graphics!! " BFG Print limited Eco and sustainable print expert

4y

All those empty shops!! We can assist with super fast visual and print and install if any retailers want to take advantage of using those spaces for pop up shops! Great way to test the local market fir a brand!

Like
Reply
Tim Nash

LinkedIn Top Voice in Retail * Rethink Retail Top Expert * Curator of Shop Drop Daily * Head of IPOS IGNITE

4y
Joe Sahyoun

Marketing consultant

4y

À good strategy to get closer to clients in distancing times

Edward Sleijffers

Industry Lead Automotive & Mobility @VML | Digital | Ecommerce | Retail | D2C | Commercial Strategy | Business Development | Revenue Growth | Omnichannel Customer Experience Expert

4y

Dutch shopping centre developer Wereldhave this week launched a “full service pop-up leasing label” called UpNext for their 15 centres in The Netherlands. I’m sorry the article is in Dutch.

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