Pop up store e-commerce: your online store in an offline environment.
Pop up store e-commerce is a temporary physical store, which is used to sell products from a virtual store and promote the brand of an e-commerce like yours in an offline environment.
According to the article “ Pop-up store as an alternative to explore new markets ” published by Susana Figoli on the Geofusion blog, this type of store emerged in the 1990s in cities like New York and Tokyo.
Finally, with the evolution of e-commerce in recent years, pop-up stores have become viable alternatives for the sector. They are great options for those who, for example, are trying to create an omnichannel business.
Features of an e-commerce pop up store
The characteristics of an e-commerce pop up store are:
• Location in a physical environment :
A pop up store must be deployed in a physical environment. It can be, for example, at a kiosk in a train or subway station; at a bus terminal; inside a mall; in a gallery; etc.
• Temporary role :
Unlike a regular physical store, which operates around the clock, a pop up store is temporary. In general, they work for 1 to 6 months in a given location.
• Itinerant trend :
A pop up store can be opened in a mall for a season. Later, it can be integrated into a fair. Later in time, it is possible to place it on a busy street, for example.
In fact, those who integrate this store concept into an e-commerce can enjoy several advantages.
Advantages of an e-commerce pop up store
Among the advantages of using a pop up store I cite:
• Low cost (rent of approximately BRL 500,00 and BRL 1.000,00 per m²)
• Enables the public to interact with your brand and products physically
• Allows you to promote your online store.
• Brings the public closer to your e-commerce brand
• Allows you to identify what the challenges will be in a physical store implementation
• Provides the opportunity to increase the credibility of your e-commerce
• Provides the chance to generate greater public engagement with your brand
• It can serve to direct consumers offline to your virtual store
• Enables you to test new ideas in general for online and offline retail
• Allows you to sell entry-level products at a physical location.
• It can be used as a pick-up point for products purchased online.
• You can sell a single product or several
• Enables testing of a Minimum Viable Product in an e-commerce startup.
• Makes it possible to launch products in general
• It allows you to create a sense of urgency (of limited time) to sell more.
• Allows you to test your e-commerce offline (omnichannel feasibility)
• It can be used for “stock burning” (sale of products about to be invalidated)
• You can try to target specific audiences (by region, for example)
In other words, the benefits are great.
How to deploy e-commerce pop up store?
Pop up store e-commerce: Adidas store in the shape of a shoe box with elements of Organizational Culture (colors, logos, symbols, etc.)
Check out 10 steps to deploy an e-commerce pop up store:
• Get a quote on rental prices in malls, galleries, subways, etc.
• Choose the most appropriate location, that is, the most consistent with your brand
• Design the store layout using symbols from your organizational culture.
• Establish which products will be sold at the physical point
• Know how much you need to sell to start making a profit ( Break Even )
• Develop promotional material for the physical point and also for the virtual store
• Establish the means of payment
• Establish and publicize the time in which the e-commerce pop up store will work
• Optimize the store and sales pitch as you interact with the audience
• Define if it will continue for another season, if it will stop or change location
Well, the first time is always the hardest. However, after going through the initial difficulties, the tendency is for the implementation of the following e-commerce pop up stores to be faster, more organized and better.
