What's In Store? March 2019

Pop-ups – riding the ‘new wave’ of retail

Currently worth around £2.3bn and predicted to grow significantly, the pop-up industry represents an exciting new wave of retail, according to the Independent. Fashion, luxury and beauty brands are all capitalising on their popularity with customers, who are drawn to the exclusive, immersive nature of the pop-up experience.

As the report points out, customers have been known to wait in line if they understand the exclusivity and limited-edition nature of what the pop-up is demonstrating. They ‘can create a buzz and experience a level of success without having to pay premium rates for commercial space, particularly in central London. An affordable, prominent spot with no long-term commitment means it’s now easier than ever to get a reputation started or inject some life into an old industry’.

Red Ant says: The popularity of pop-ups proves that customers are hungry for shopping experiences outside the transactional. But they can only live up to shoppers’ expectations if they have a fully-operational digital element. Buying exclusive items in the traditional way simply won’t work – successful pop-ups rely entirely on seamlessly connecting online with offline, allowing customers access to all available products despite being in a limited retail space and leveraging innovative tech to support the experiential aspects.

Easy to implement? RetailOS® is designed to support all technical requirements for pop-ups, out of the box. From online ordering in-store and mobile POS to smart displays and changing rooms, our apps are ready to go in a matter of weeks.

Time to activate? Six weeks from planning to implementation

Find out more about RetailOS® and its Assisted Sales, Mobile POS and In-Store Theatre solutions.