As a concept, a pop-up store was around for a while, but a current COVID-19 crisis made it a viable retail option for multiple reasons. Since we're living in uncertain times, leasing a business space long-term brings enormous risks, making business owners turning to short term lease options. With pop-up stores, you can rent a business location for a short time, enabling you to change locations often, reduce costs, and experiment with different approaches and strategies.  Either you're testing a new product line, building brand awareness, or just trying out the new location, opening a pop-up store might be the best

We left behind a tough year for many industries, especially for retail and hospitality. The challenge continues: some stores are still closed or have severe limitations. People are encouraged to stay at home, while some have fled the cities. Brands cannot interact with the customers traditionally; alternative channels need to be investigated. Which is why pop-ups gained new popularity in 2020 and will do so along 2021. //Pre-pandemic Pop-ups have been part of the retail’s ecosystem for several decades,  serving multiple purposes.  Since the advent of the internet, launching a pop-up has been a chance to reflect on what the brand cannot

Every year, September is the month when retailers start to get ready for the Holiday Season. It starts on Black Friday and lasts until after Christmas sales. It is a tough period to manage demand to ensure good income, but this year forecasting says it is going to be exceptional. So, we want to discuss how to be prepared, with a pop-up, for a peak season like no other.   //Why is this year different? This year customers will shift to online, where the majority of demand will be. The trend of consumers migrating to e-commerce started during confinement, and has maintained its

Food and beverage are one of the sectors that walloped during the quarantine, and the challenges are ongoing. In this context, restaurants, just like every other sector, are facing a transformation, and it is crucial to adapt to it.  A possibility to overcome these difficult times is to opt for a more flexible solution, just like vegan chef Gaz Oakley is planning to do with his worldwide tour of pop-up restaurants.     We want to share with you how to launch a pop-up restaurant to entice your customers.                //Benefits The benefits of launching a pop-up restaurant are several; and if your business is a ghost

As most of us start to enjoy "controlled" freedom again, we also enjoy the first signs of summer, so more than ever the Holiday season seems a mirage. But times flies and when looking at the future, Holiday season and pop-ups could be the perfect match to face the challenges retail is undergoing. //Future scenarios Many brands have struggled over the last few months: shops have been closed, but rent had to be paid. Even now, with the process of returning to normality, many shops haven't been able to open as following social distancing rules is just not sustainable. The possible outcome is that

In trends, we call unexpected events, such as the pandemic, an activator. A disruption that accelerates or puts the focus on topics that were already on the spotlight and some changes show how COVID-19 draws attention to sustainability.  Sustainability is not a new concept, nor in retail nor in other industries. Over time changes in ethics and societal beliefs have pushed the topic of sustainability to become part of the best practices of each brand or sectors.  Sustainability has a large meaning and a recent study, by Dr Paul Bain,  has shown that people understand it in four different ways. Generally speaking,

During uncertain times some companies might find it difficult to adjust their tone of voice to the new situation. Nowadays, the questions companies ask most of the time are: how to communicate with consumers during COVID-19 and how to promote my products or services but sensibly? I have already shared some cultural tensions the lockdown has highlighted, you can read the article here and learn more about it. Some of those same cultural tensions are causing a shift in the way companies communicate with their customers, no matter what channel they use.   //Three cultural tensions and communication I would like to focus on three central

Hosting an online pop-up is an incredible opportunity to entice the attention of your community. For your pop-up to be appealing and successful, you should take into account some characteristics your pop-up should have. Also, you should put into place a little strategy to maximise the time you are spending with the participants, that is why we want to share with you how to create a successful online pop-up store.  Remember, your pop-up should have an added value to the purchase experience. Use your expertise to create this value so more customers will participate, again and again. //What you should keep in mind Structure

Despite the turmoil we are going through, pop-up shows that they can adapt to these difficult times. We continuously monitor how companies, retailers, organisations and even institutions are using pop-ups as flexible solutions. There are some alternative and mobile pop-ups, inspirations in COVID times. Now, more than ever, we need secure solutions to reach out to our customers. As most of the world is still in quarantine, in some countries, the restrictions start to loosen up. And, it is still unclear how stores will be fully operational while guaranteeing the WHO's guidelines.   //Inspo from the past Most of the time, when talking about

Amid the rapid current changes, cultural tensions are replacing almost all the predictions done at the end of 2019. Every day, new and inspirational pop-up events are showing, more than ever, how much we need flexible solutions to survive this turmoil. Some of these cultural tensions will last even after the peak of crises will be over, some will become the new normal, only time will tell.   //Rapid changes and pop-ups as solutions  Lockdown vs globalisation: the lockdown has exposed if we had any doubt, how interconnected we are. We depend on each other's economic functioning and social mobility. Therefore, local governments

Sustainability is a mega-trend forcing companies to change their way of producing, to lower the impact they might have on the environment. It is also forcing companies to take further measures which are essential for their customers. Today, consumers are extremely informed and are prepared to judge hard if they believe that a company has not jumped yet on the sustainability wave. We give you 3 sustainable actions for a more ecological pop-up store. According to the research company JWT Intelligence, 92% of consumers want to live more sustainably. And the most exciting fact is that they are willing to pay

CultureHouse, a non-profit organization of Boston (USA), connected the dots and launched a series of public spaces as pop-up events using vacant stores.   Cities are organic and change constantly. It is quite natural, societies change and cities are just a reflection of what are the new needs and desires of those societies. Public spaces have always been a crucial reality of any society. Politics, in ancient Greece, was born in the very core of the function of the public space. Nowadays, however, public spaces such as squares and parks can be challenging when it comes to using this space for the

Booking's Pop-Up Theme Hotels is the last attempt of the international company to remain the leader of the competitive travel industry. The travel industry is today one of the economy's leading sectors worldwide. Indeed, according to The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), this sector supports 1 in 5 jobs around the globe, generating 10% of the global GDP. The traveling scenario has changed over the last 20 years, thanks to more competitors, start-ups, and the internet. The result is that nowadays you don't need to be rich to travel. Travelers' profiles have also changed. It includes solo travelers women, families living

7 Tips from a Visual Merchandiser,  Ilaria Gasparo works as a VM for Bershka, and has a lot to share! Giulia: Can you explain to me what exactly your job consists of? Ilaria: I’m a Visual Merchandiser. Therefore, I am in charge of everything related to the image of the store. From shop windows, mannequins, lights, internal layout, to marketing material and props and so on. I will explain to you in general what is going on in the retail field. I will also provide you with 7 tips from a visual merchandising, which is a role that can vary from company

What can we expect to see along with this 2020 and in the next decade? These are three trends here to stay. Trends don’t happen from one day to the other; on the contrary, they are the sum of the connections of little dots that occur across industries due to political, social, economic, technological, and cultural changes that affect our society.  The latter process happens in all sectors, and retail is not isolated. Through our pop-up events, I have the privilege to observe these trends in the making and how different brands and retails interpret those same trends.  How is a trend

With creativity and imagination, even a circular economy pop-up can become a reality! Last summer Trashlab Miniwiz launched in Porto Cervo (Sardinia, Italy) a pop-up where the money was plastic. Trashlab-Miniwiz is a company that recycles and upcycles materials for all sorts of solutions. From architecture to consumer goods and furniture, with them, rubbish finds a second opportunity and a new life. This circular economy pop-up had a Trashespresso machine and a smart rubbish bin called Robin. Robin recognised and sorted out waste customers brought in, turning it into points. Through an app. customers used points to purchase the products sold in store.   What

Paris is one of the major European cities. It has a total of 2.1 million inhabitants (Jan. 2019) and an average of 40 million tourists per year. That is a significant potential group of customers, perfect to launch a pop-up! Each neighbourhood has a broad array of things to offer, so it might be challenging to choose, which is the best one for your next pop-up.  However, each of them has some peculiarity and can suit better your pop-up concept for style and public.   " Paris is always a good idea."                      

We are approaching the end of a decade, and everything from the '90s is becoming vintage. Earlier Millennials are looking the '90s with a sense of nostalgia. At the same time, GenZ is discovering the cult series from that same period. What is making these pop-ups so incredible? Fans will have the possibility to play their favourite characters, and of course, take some memorable pictures.  //3 Example of comedy pop-ups Seinfeld: the first comedy pop-up to offer an immersive experience. A live sit-com based on a fictionalized life of stand-up comedian Jarry Seinfeld. The pop-up launched to celebrate 30 years from the program's premiere: displaying

According to Sproutsocial.com, Instagram has 1 billion users accessing the platform every month; 50 % of those are scrolling through their feed every single day. That is a big audience! Visual is everything on Instagram, so how significant is visual excess in a pop-up event. Taking advantage of the dominant visual culture, we are embedded in, many brands have been able to prove that the "Instagram Economy" is still working.  One example we want to bring to the spotlight is the case of the Museum of Ice Cream (MIC). Why is this example so emblematic? Probably because it is the first pop-up