Looking for a way to experiment with owning your own shop, for a short foray into retailing, or for a way to test (or introduce) a new product line?  Perhaps instead of using a kiosk or cart, you could open a pop up shop. These temporary retail outlets often take advantage of vacant storefronts (which is why landlords love them), are set up inside another store, or are built as a freestanding structure.

Halloween stores are a perfect example of pop up shops, since they are open only two or three months in order to serve this specialized market. In some areas there are also pop up Christmas stores. These seasonal pop ups are usually run by national chains — but William Glen of Sacramento often used the pop up concept to expand their independent specialty shop during the holidays.  They would rent an additional space in the mall where they were located in order to have room for seasonal merchandise. Is this an idea that might work for you?

The pop up concept can work as a creative way to share space. If Toys R Us can have a temporary “shop” inside 24 Macy’s at Christmas, could you have a presence in another independent store during the holidays? You would need to pay rent, of course, and to work out the logistics of staffing and payment.  But it would be cheaper than having a second store year-round, and would introduce new customers to your business.

You might also consider a pop up shop to highlight a new introduction. The origin of the pop up store concept was in fact the use of a rented small space to feature a single product or line. When it sold out the shop would close, perhaps to reopen elsewhere — or reopen in the same space as a sample sale or even a private party.  Consumers love the idea of offers being limited in time and quantity, and the changing nature of the pop up store makes shopping an adventure.

One very original use of the pop up concept was when Danish chocolatier Anthon Berg opened a shop for one day and had customers pay with a good deed instead of cash or a credit card. It is hard to fathom the amount of PR and goodwill generated by the creative idea of “The Generous Store”, which originated with Agency Robert/Boisen & Like-minded.

Pinterest has dozens of boards entitled “Pop Up Stores”, and it’s clear that the concept has many variations usimg spaces that range from vintage Airstream trailers to shipping containers to vacant grocery stores.  You’ll find lots of creative ideas to inspire you!

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder