Pop-Ups: Been There, Done That?

Pop-up retail concepts are nothing new. They get a ton of buzz, show up all over the place and give brands a sexy new PR story to spin. That said, it’s worth noting that pop-ups paved the way for brands and retailers to experiment and test ideas on a smaller scale – without the financial burden or public attention of affecting an entire fleet of stores. The notion has given several courageous retailers freedom to break the rules of traditional retail, flex their brand muscle and test new ideas with an entrepreneurial mindset.

Whether the goal is reaching a new consumer, building awareness, exploring new markets, or introducing new products or partnerships (or all of the above), brands have traditionally tied pop-ups to events or marketing promotions, with varied degrees of success. Rarely do they connect it to a means for continued innovation.

Too often, the opportunity for change within a brand happens on a five-year cycle, when retailers decide a new prototype is in order. It starts with developing a new store design that checks all the necessary boxes: consumer needs, competitive differentiation, flexible and operationally sound and aesthetically attractive. Check. Then, completing the prototype, rolling it out across the chain and moving on.

So when does true retail innovation happen, and how can retailers find that magic “Eureka!” moment that will evolve and extend their brand into the future? Brands need to embrace store design with the same intensity and rigor that technology and pharmaceutical companies invest in research and development, in order to uncover their next-generation offer. It’s a pre-prototype, exploratory approach that pushes retailers to plan their store-experience roadmap in the same way manufacturers plot their product pipeline.

How is that different from a pop-up? Think of it this way: pop-ups are about today; they are, by definition, fleeting. Exploratory retail is about encouraging new ideas, extending a brand and building a sound and tested strategy – all while running a business.

Today’s evolving retail environment requires planning for the future of your entire store experience, not just product line up, and pushing the envelope with new ideas. The retail sandbox continues to shift to include non-traditional players alongside titans. Tiny, online-only retailers open storefronts and customers swoon. Savvy consumer-packaged goods brands create their own retail experiences that increase awareness with consumers.

And for those who resist change until customers, the market and lackluster sales force the issue? Too late. The ship has already sailed … or sunk. What’s your retail R&D innovation strategy?

Jay Highland is chief creative officer at Chute Gerdeman, a retail design agency located in Columbus, Ohio. With a combination of retail expertise, strategy and design process from initial concept creation to store implementation, Jay instinctively understands how to build relationships between brands and consumers. His work has been honored with industry design awards, has been featured in several leading publications and he is a regular speaker at industry events.