5 Simple Steps to Start a Pop Up Shop

Pop up shops are literally popping up everywhere. On every high street, in virtually every town and city across the UK, temporary shops and spaces are being opened up and selling a variety of items from clothes and shoes, to art and pottery.

But, although they may look simple, making sure that people know you are there is important and, with every business knowing the importance of marketing, it is no different for a pop up shop. Fortunately, there are some cheap printed marketing solutions such as roller banners to help in letting people know what you are, who you are and what they will gain from shopping with you.

Why a pop up shop?

Pop up shops are temporary retail opportunities but this is not a phrase for temporary looking, or jumble sale. It means you take out a short term lease on a high street property and, with intense marketing, have a three month (or thereabouts) retail emporium. The temporary nature of the pop up shop is the very thing that makes them chic, on trend, fashionable and hip. There is no question of smut, poor quality or shoddy goods; this is a high quality shopping experience for consumers looking for anything from vintage fashion to watches, chocolate or stationery.

From start-ups to established businesses, this is why pop up shops are a great answer to the recent tough trading conditions:

  • Sell more – consumers seem to like pop up shops…
  • Low costs – many high streets are so desperate for empty shops to be filled, that they are offering ridiculously priced short term rents to attract people in
  • Test locations – why we never thought of this before, is beyond many retail experts but, if you have a new product or service, and think it will do well on the high street, why not test it out with a pop up shop?
  • Events & key shopping times – taking advantage of a high street presence in the run up to Christmas is surely a win-win situation for retailers AND consumers
A Christmas pop-up shop (www.popupspaceblog.com)

A Christmas pop-up shop (www.popupspaceblog.com)

  • Building brand and awareness – two things that are essential for any business to thrive and make a name for itself is the quality of its product, services as well as a company to do business with. A pop up shop is a physical, tangible thing. And consumers like this. The web is great, but it is slightly ‘anonymous’ when it comes to getting to know a company…

Fancy opening a pop up shop?

Here are 5 deliciously simple steps to making your pop up shop a reality…

  1. It is a shopping experience – there are various examples of pop up shops all over the country but most pundits would agree that far from being ‘just a shop’ a pop up shop is a shopping experience. And it all starts with the look of it, as well as what experience you want your shoppers to leave with. To improve the customer experience at your pop up shop, it might also be worth putting some music in the background to draw people in. Businesses do have to use a certain license when they stream music in-stores, so make sure you have the appropriate account first. To learn more, visit a website like https://cloudcovermusic.com/music-for-business/spotify-other-services/.
  2. Finding the right space – depending on what the experience is, what you are selling etc. you need to find an appropriate space. For example, vintage fashion is best suited to areas of a city or town that is known for this kind of thing; plonking your pop up vintage fashion shop on any old high street and expecting the local populace to ‘get it’ is rather missing the point. There are various websites that you can use but We Are Pop Up offers some great spaces.beatles pop up
  3. Practicalities – the biggest off-putting factor about some pop up shops, stalls etc. is that the method of payment is sometimes a little hit and miss. There are a range of payment methods from investing in a mobile car machine, to harnessing the power of PayPal as an online payment system that you should look at, especially if your products are high value and certainly in clothing pop ups. People rarely walk around with oodles of cash in their back pocket.
  4. Promotion, marketing & advertising – don’t be arrogant to think that you can throw open the doors of your temporarily leased shop and the local shoppers will come flocking in. You will need to promote your pop-up shop, market it, and advertise the fact that you are there and this is where roller banners, posters, flyers, and all kinds of printed material come into play. You can also get a few custom stickers printed for branding purpose, which you can put on vehicles, street walls, some of your business products, and more. Moreover, you may get to personalize these stickers with motivational quotes, funky designs, and vibrant colors. Affordable and effective, they have a great impact on your pop-up business.
  5. Open it, enjoy it, love it! – pop up shops are a great business venture and it is not just new business that are using this new, adaptable business model to launch themselves. Established businesses, both online and on the high street, are realising what a great way these shops and spaces are for bringing their products to towns and cities across the country where they do not have a presence.

With the right mix of promotion and marketing, you really can have a great success on your hands!

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