Post-pandemic consumerism tends to lean towards digital spaces, however, using pop-up experiences gives physical retail spaces a unique edge.

Retail 2022 Onwards

Online sites that stock a wide range of fashion goods such as Farfetch and SSENSE has seen a rise in sales during and post-pandemic, and as the retail struggle continues to stretch through to 2022, brands might consider prioritising their online presence over their physical presence, however given a few novel examples, it is still quite important.

Whilst online presence and engagement are important post-pandemic, brand loyalty is hard to nurture. Along with that, physical and localised presence allows a brand to increase its conversion rates a lot more effectively, i.e. being engaged online does not always translate to increased sales, whereas the chances are higher in person.

The pop-up shop

A good strategy that brands have been using, and continue to use are pop-up shops and experiences. The pop up store as a concept has existed for many centuries, with roots in travelling merchants and their stalls. However, in the context of fashion, the pop-up shop gained traction in the 90s thanks to sample sales held by labels in prominent fashion cities around the world, only open to a select few via word of mouth.

It allows brands to offer localised experiences, which caters specifically to a demographic, instead of deploying a “one size fits all” campaign worldwide. This builds brand reputation as the appeal to local culture shows a sense of sincerity. Localised experiences have also shown to produce hype around it, as people may share unique experiences to global audiences to accentuate their individuality. Their cost effectiveness allows small brands to enter the physical retail market, whilst allowing for larger labels to perform creative experiments.

Scarcity creates demand, and in this case scarcity comes in the form of time. As the time that a pop-up is open is short-lived, this incentivises more people to participate, which may add new consumers to the customer base. Exclusivity also drives demand, as consumers love unique experiences, which may come in the form of cafes or art exhibit conjunctions. Furthermore, extra demand can be added by offering limited capsule collections, sold only at these pop-ups, which maximises demand both locally and internationally.

An example of this would be the Gucci x Adidas pop-up store appearing in cities like Tokyo, Los Angeles and Dubai. It offers a unique visual experience, different from Gucci's usual appearance, catering specifically to this collaboration, enveloping people in the vision and heritage behind the collaboration.

Other examples of these unique spaces are the Maison Margiela Cafe in Chengdu, China and the Ebay Museum of Authentics in Melbourne, Australia.

Buyer Beware

As with most experiences, the pop-up experiences must be done with taste, else it comes off as a distasteful attempt at demand creation. To mitigate that, controlling the scarcity factor and making sure the experience aligns with social and cultural expectations of the location is important. Factors such as location, cost and timing the event during a period of high consumer activity, such as Fashion Week or when a brand debuts a new collection should be considered.

Consumers are able to discern genuine efforts from cash-grabs, which should keep the bar of quality for these events relatively high. Therefore, brands that are attuned to consumer attitudes and are more passionate in community engagement will have a higher likelihood of all around success.