The steps to a successful pop-up store

The challenge in the creating a pop-up store Is to align all the planets to make it a success. We can give you some key tips to enlighten you in your thinking.

Step 1: define your retail strategy around the pop-up store

Define the purpose of your pop-up store

The cornerstone of a successful pop-up store is to determine its objective prior to the operation. Thus, each decision taken in the creation of a pop-up store must be made in such a way as to move in the direction of this objective And of the overall strategy of the company, without ever deviating from it, at the risk of losing performance.

What type of goals? First, we have the business goals. Thanks to additional acquisition channel What is a pop-up store, you can determine your retail strategy in order to boost your sales.

Then we have all the marketing goals. The famous Coup de communication to gain notoriety and visibility, for example for a product launch. Also, the objectives related to customer relationships: strengthen relationships with your customers in order to create a community and retain them. We are thinking in particular of the Maison Dorée brand, launched by the famous influencer Chloé B. She broke the digital barrier by meeting her community, which was largely linked to Instagram. In addition, proximity to the customer makes it possible to obtain customer feedback and better determine your offer adapted to their needs.
Pop-up stores are also an opportunity for brands to renew the experience by creating a memorable experience (workshops, games...), we think in particular of Chanel with the anniversary of its iconic perfume No. 5, which launched Christmas chalets in NY.
And finally our favorite, create a first store concept in the form of a pop-up store to test and learn of this one so as to then deploy it on a large scale in a permanent store.

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These goals will allow you to determine your retail strategy and allocate the necessary budget to each department : store rental, layout and decoration, logistics, internal training, digital marketing, partnerships... Your goals also determine The duration of your pop-up store. A pop-up store can last 1 week for a call against 3 to 6 months for test & learn.

Based on your positioning and your target

After figuring out the why, it's important not to lose sight of the for whom. The target of your brand and your positioning are largely to be taken into account to even determine thelocation of your pop-up store. A beautiful atypical store in the heart of the Marais is not necessarily synonymous with performance. If your target is primarily family and local, Batignolles will be a much better location for your brand. Moreover, it's not just Paris, other customers in cities are eagerly welcoming pop-up stores. In these human-sized cities, the opening of a new store does not go unnoticed.

Your positioning is also key in determining The best time of year to open a pop-up store. Indeed Cabaïa, the king of pompoms, has every interest in launching a pop-up store in February: costs are lower and it's hat season. Rossignol also took advantage of winter to present its more street offer in French cities.
Les Raffineurs, the king of gift ideas, has a major stake in creating a pop-up store at the end of November when Christmas gifts are being prepared.
And obviously, swimwear brands like ANJA have every interest in launching their pop-up store in June.

Step 2: set up your pop-up store to optimize the customer journey and make it memorable

For this part, we called on a expert in creating experiential places, Label Experience, in order to summarize as best as possible The steps for Set up your pop-up store.

Define the uses and needs of users within the pop-up store

This is the phase based on step 1: defining your objectives, positioning and target. This step may seem theoretical but it is crucial to respect the DNA of your brand and meet the uses and needs of users.

This is the method used by Label Experience, a team of marketing profiles, prior to the architectural project, carries out important research work as well as brand identity, that on His community and his needs.

Thanks to this step, you will be able to train your sales team to the challenges of the store and the Raise awareness about customer relationships. You will also be able to limit the points of friction linked to waiting in the fitting rooms or at the time of payment. Thus, with these elements it will be easier to determine a fluid customer journey that is complementary to digital (click & collect, exchange, CRM...).

This initial analysis of the expectations of end users also allows To identify then to segment uses that the pop-up should make possible. For the exercise to be concrete, it is useful to create Personae that represent different Typical customers of the community, with diverse expectations.

Each of the characters must be able to pursue a fluid journey and the space must provide answers to their expectations.

For the temporary corner HoliMarket by Holidermie at Le Bon Marché, Label Experience took care to study the specificities of the beauty brand, its customers and His desires for this rather particular corner: the space should in fact mix uses by allowing both the promotion of Holidermie, the discovery of new brands but also the promotion of treatments and workshops. It is with these guidelines concerning uses that Label Experience's interior design, marketing and visual identity teams can begin to understand the concept and then its representation in space.

Create storytelling in line with brand DNA

Based on the analysis of the brand and the definition of uses, The marketing team by Label Experience imagines a storytelling, a story that will be told in space. This team works closely together with Interior designers to ensure that the marketing concept, which carries the brand's DNA, can be translated into space through a viable project both from a point of view technique what budgetary.

Thus, within the HoliMarket corner, the idea of creating an urban market where customers would find gems was born from Holidermie's desire to introduce its community to new brands that share its values. The storytelling was designed to meet the brand's objectives for this event, but it also fits perfectly with the philosophy of the brand, which values holism: Holidermie thinks of beauty as a whole and the HoliMakeT corner is a way to discover certain facets of beauty through 61 brands represented.

For storytelling to be reflected in the space, every detail counts: respecting the brand's graphic charter is as important as transposing its values into the space. Thus, in addition to promoting a holistic vision of beauty across the urban market, we use the colorimetry and codes of Holidermie: pink and gray guide the general ambiance of the 120m2 of ephemeral decor, while the agora cube is a reinterpretation of the brand's logo.

Creating a customer experience: personalization, workshop, instructional staging

To make the pop-up attractive, you have to Associate with storytelling a customer experience Successful, Innovative but always in line with the aspirations of its customers. This involves workshops, events, a personalization service, in short, everything that takes us away from the traditional shopping experience. This is becoming more and more essential to convince the community to come to the store:

To maintain the example of Holidermie, the brand wanted to introduce its customers to halotherapy, a relaxation technique. We therefore imagined a dedicated space and created the Bloom halotherapy room with walls decorated with salt bricks: an original idea for an unusual Holidermie experience.

At the same time, for materialize the marketing concept in the physical space and making it unique to each brand, interior designers regularly design certain tailor-made pieces. This furniture should always be inspired by your brand identity. If you do not have a large enough budget to create tailor-made elements, you can for example take care of the signage which, although less expensive, will also allow you to create an educational setting that tells the story of your brand and your products.

For example, the Holidermie retail space features tables in the shape of the gua sha relaxation stones so dear to the holistic brand. These tables are also dedicated to workshops that allow the brand to make itself known to curious visitors to Le Bon Marché but also to retain its regular customers.

Choice of partners for implementation

From marketing concept to implementation, there is sometimes a time lag. To avoid unpleasant surprises on the opening day of the pop-up store, it is important to surround yourself with the right partners!

The Label Experience agency, has developed A network With trusted partners with whom she works in a manner perennial. Interior designers particularly appreciate the fluidity of relationships established with these professionals who have become accustomed to the specifications and operation of the agency over the years: a significant gain of time when designing an ephemeral space.

Besides the building lasting relationships with its partners, it is important to call on specialized partners according to their know-how to guarantee an optimal result and in line with the concept: for carpentry and tailor-made products, for example, the agency regularly calls on Menuitbat, a carpenter capable of adapting to the very specific demands of retail projects.

Finally, the choice of partners is of course decisive in controlling the budget. There is always a compromise to be found with the right partner who will be able to support you in accordance with the level of finish required: a simple approach that allows you to respect budgets and schedules that are sometimes very tight.

Step 3: make your pop-up store visible

Integrate the pop-up store into your communication and media plan

Let's start with the traditional media: the press. Create the buzz around your pop-up store by creating a Press release with key information about your retail operation. Media like Going out in Paris, Paris Secret and Fashion Network are stingy with innovations that energize city centers. On another scale, The local press is just as beneficial as well as Neighborhood traders like coffee shop, tobacco shop, florist and hairdressers. Go introduce yourself and tell about your brand, the Word of mouth It's the ABC. Invite the press and retailers to A launch event.

Then, of course, we have social networks. Especially if you are a DNVB, share with your community your pop-up store project until completion. Show the backstages, ask for their opinion on the decoration, surprise them... so that your customers feel involved and concerned by your operation. You can also create events on Facebook around your workshops or on the pop-up itself.

During the pop-up, encourage your community to create stories and posts related to your pop-up store through an “instagrammable” decor or contests around a viral hashtag. For your pop-up store to become the place to be.

And at the end, thank them with a souvenir video featuring customers.

Using micro-influence and collaborations

In this same dynamic, for even more buzz around your pop-up store, Use influencers, more or less big depending on your brand, can be a source of commitment for you. Informally, send them an invitation message, typically on Instagram, so they can pop into your pop-up or come to your launch event and do a few stories. Which influencers? Those who follow you, those in the city you are settling in and those who have a community that matches your target. You don't lose anything by trying and if it works it's very beneficial.

In another measure, you can collaborate with a brand that is complementary to yours or completely ancillary to yours. Typically for the Maison Dorée pop-up store, they used Cookidiction to get their customers to buy sweets, and created a Maison Dorée signature cookie.

You can even push the concept further by creating a pop-up store entirely in collaboration with another brand, as Louis Vuitton and Supreme did. You will thus benefit from the reputation that gives and takes.

Transform your window into media

Your window allows you to gain natural prints. The basics of retail is a sign cut out of letters and/or flags with the name and logo of your brand. THEYour brand DNA will be imbued in the heads of passers-by.

To go further and make passers-by want to enter your store, your front door must be attractive. The classics, the Stop sidewalk and the door open. The relief, that is to say a non-flat front, thanks to plants at the entrance like Mackeene did, chairs and a table... make your store welcoming.

Then it's about arouse enough curiosity for potential consumers to enter your store. This can be window dressing with a powerful quote, staging your products with vegetation or around a theme. The idea is toTo be percussive and to succeed in transcribing theYour brand universe.

Step 4: learn from your pop-up store

Your pop-up store allows your brand to get live customer feedback, to analyze and understand the behavior and needs of your customers. Romain Jourdan, the co-founder of Les Raffineurs, is a fan of pop-up stores, and even though his sales team is trained, he told us that he automatically takes the time to go there to exchange with his customers and that he based on their feedback to develop the platform.

As you will have understood, your approach within your point of sale must be customer-centric. In addition to customer feedback, other indicators should be monitored for measure the real impact of a store across your entire brand.

Measuring the performance of the pop-up store

Note that your pop-up store is not only an acquisition channel, it allows you to test and learn about your concept. This is why limiting yourself to monitoring turnover and ROI does not allow you to measure the performance of your point of sale.

When you create an Ads or Facebook Business campaign you don't just focus on the conversion rate? Well at the point of sale it's a bit the same idea. That's why at Nestore, we help brands determine their indicators for monitoring the performance of their retail strategy (their NPS, the impact on their social networks, on site visits, their ROX...). Second, it allows brands to get to know each other better. their strengths and their areas for improvement for their next pop-up store and why not their large-scale deployment.