Pop-up shops are now a fixture in the retail landscape – and they’re not going anywhere soon.
Bridging the worlds of e-commerce and bricks and mortar, while leveraging social media to build hype, this relatively new retail channel provides retailers with the opportunity to engage customers in new and interactive ways. On-line retailers, from Amazon and Ebay to smaller retailers, like Frank & Oak and OVO, can experiment with physical outlets and increase their exposure to target markets. Established retailers, such as Target or Roots, can launch new products, test new markets and simply build hype – even inducing a “now or never” buying frenzy, of which fast fashions retailers like H&M are masters of.
Pop-ups everywhere
Pop-ups have taken over the world and Toronto is by no means immune. We have witnessed an inundation of pop-ups all over the city, for products ranging from fashion to artisan products to consumables. In the east end, The Danforth East Community Association has been running a Pop-Up Shop Project encouraging landlords to rent to pop-up retailers, in an effort to fill empty storefronts and revitalize the neighbourhood. And the Toronto Eaton Centre has hosted a variety of pop-ups from Cirque du Soleil to KinderSURPRISE to Lancôme. However, the most popular areas are predictably along Queen St. and King St. (Indochino) and the burgeoning areas of Ossington (Popup120) and Dundas West (Drake’s OVO).
The dedicated venue
The success of pop-ups has even spurred the emergence of spaces dedicated to such events. Two of the most popular are 567 Queen St West and 363 King St West, both of which have hosted a variety of pop-ups this year alone. The FiveSixSeven, as it is known, played host to Roots, for their XL collection launch; Montreal-based retailer Frank & Oak, for several themed pop-ups, including a partnership with Toronto FC; Rickard’s, for their Movember Beerbershop and most recently Yo Sox, for their holiday shop. The favoured King St West site was home to the Diet Coke Style Bar in partnership with luxury on-line retailer Gilt.com and a number of pop-ups by discount fashion retailer FIVE as well as short stints by discounter I Love Shoes. Two years ago, the same location was the home for the much hyped Target and Jason Wu pop-up.
Even though pop-ups still only account for less than 1% of sales (according to ICSC) – they still represent a projected $50 billion business this year. Their popularity with customers, ability to feed the social media machine, rejuvenate the streetscape and garner the spotlight for retailers will ensure their continued relevance and success. Pop-ups are here to stay!
