Shannon Hooten
Oct. 26, 2018
Hosting a Pop Up Shop is a great way to expose your product or service to a new crowd of
potential customers or give online customers a different buying experience. As the Retail &
Events Manager at MORTAR, I’ve had the pleasure of working with a variety of companies that
utilize our BRICK Pop Up Shop locations to do just that. From beauty products to handmade
clothing to custom jewelry, our space has transformed from weekend to weekend into different
experiences based on each company’s unique vision.
Here are three tips to help you prepare for your own successful pop up shop:
1. Get the word out ASAP: The sooner you can book your pop up shop the better. Make
your pop up shop an event so people mark their calendars in anticipation. That means
creating an event on Facebook and submitting your event details to various news station
websites and other sites with event calendars. The more the better! Make sure that when
people are looking for something to do YOUR pop up comes up in the search engine.
Once you have their attention, you need to…
2. Give your customers and potential customers something to anticipate: If you’re a
small company or start-up, simply announcing the launch of a new product or service
won’t garner the attention you think it will. Offer small giveaways, discounts for the first
10-20 visitors, free food bites and drinks with each purchase, etc. A really cool
atmosphere can bring a crowd from the street. Have a DJ (or a really cool playlist), cool
lighting, and a welcoming environment. People walking by will have to stop in to see
what’s going on and then you’ll hook them with your spot-on presentation and offers.
Right?
3. Speaking of presentation… merchandising can be one of the hardest yet most rewarding
factors when setting up a retail space. If this is your first pop up shop, you will want to
think about the “vibe” you want your customers to immediately experience upon entering
your shop. For a more chill atmosphere consider a open floor plan with a lounge area in
the middle of the shop. Offer customers a small treat or drink as they enter, have your
team dress more casually, and use a sales technique that comes off as friendly and
relatable as opposed to pitchy and stiff.
There are so many ways to have a successful pop up shop but it all depends on how you create a
space that makes your company stand out from others. Give yourself time to promote, think
about how to get the attention of current and future customers, and really think about your
merchandising and store atmosphere. Good luck!
