What makes pop-up retail so powerful, and how can you harness this power to connect with consumers on an emotional level, make a lasting impression, and drive brand loyalty?

In this series of insight reports, StudioXAG’s Gemma Ruse sheds light on how industry leading brands are creating retail moments that live a lot longer in the memory than on the shop floor.

As we begin to imagine life in a post-COVID world, we’ll explore how experiences that trigger emotions will be more important than ever, not only to reconnect with our community but also with our senses.

In order to entice people out of their homes and into a store, and make them want to come back again and again, retailers must provide something new and exceptional with every visit, never being static.

Pop-ups are places where brands can develop and experiment with their voice, where there is freedom to explore the unexpected. What can a brand offer to surprise and delight the customer, so the experience is far more than just a purchase? Something so exciting they can’t resist sharing…

Moncler – House of Genius

Moncler launched a series of cutting edge pop-up experiences in Milan, Paris, Tokyo, New York and Los Angeles to promote their avant-garde Genius line, a concept where acclaimed designers are invited to create capsule collections which reimagine the house’s iconic down jacket.

Designed to sit halfway between store and exhibition, these spaces offered complete immersion into Moncler’s futuristic vision. The collection was displayed amidst a dynamic and ever-changing installation of artworks, live-programming, constant updates and a calendar of new releases which allowed for spaces which evolved infinitely.

Spaces which morph and transform go against more traditional bricks-and-mortar stores to truly surprise consumers. 

According to Paul Ekman, a pioneer in the study of emotions, surprise is one of the seven universal emotions and arises when we encounter something sudden and unexpected. As the briefest of the universal emotions, its function is to focus our attention.

Surprise can have important effects on human behavior. For example, research has shown that people tend to disproportionately notice surprising events, be more swayed by surprising arguments and learn more from surprising information. The element of surprise is therefore a powerful tool to ensure a brand makes a lasting impression in the mind of the consumer.

Napapijri – The Futurewear Store

To mark the launch of Napapijri’s innovative Futurewear line, StudioXAG designed, fabricated and installed The Futurewear Store. Located directly opposite the entrance to King’s Cross station, the pop-up provided a transformative customer journey and surprising take on the retail experience – you couldn’t actually buy the clothes!

Instead the space was used to communicate Napapijri’s vision of the future, to build brand awareness in a relatively new market and to test new product stories. Our design for the space utilised interactive digital totems, and an interior wrap around digital wall displaying vibrant shape-shifting content, highlighting the blend between physical and digital space and enticing visitors to experience a glimpse of the future.

The space transformed to tell 3 distinct product stories over time. ‘Superlight’ is the earliest expression of Napapijri’s no-fur, no-down revolution. ‘Zeknit’ is Napapijri’s cutting-edge collection of digitally knitted urban wear, created through smart manufacturing. The final drop, ‘Infinity’, is the culmination of all that came before and paves the way for a new fashion future, fabricated entirely from a regenerated nylon yarn from waste that’s been rescued from landfills and oceans and is 100% recyclable.

With its reconfigurable layout customers were encouraged to return to the Futurewear Store as each line dropped, having a new experience each time. Product cases hanging from the ceiling put the unreleased jackets tantalisingly out of reach, creating anticipation for the next launch.

A truly endless experience awaited those who entered the immersive installation at the end of the store; with an infinity mirror and interactive lighting, visitors snapped selfies from infinite perspectives.

Explore the project here.

Trial and testing are moving from behind closed doors to into stores. Temporary spaces such as pop-ups are controlled environments where retailers can test new ideas, evaluate new markets and study shopping behaviours as customers are brought into the research and development process in real-time.

Depop at Selfridges

Depop partnered with Selfridges on a three-month residency which saw the digital marketplace inhabit their first physical space. This zone within the department store aimed to translate Depop’s values of community, variety and energy by imagining a transformative space which plays host to workshops and events whilst also offering a unique platform to individual sellers.

Inspired by physical marketplaces and arcades, a hot-red metalwork structure dominated the space complete with a dry cleaners-style rail mechanism which visitors can control, allowing an interactive and 360° view of each seller’s collection. Every week, a new crop of sellers was selected to be showcased within the space, providing a unique and entirely new offering for each and every visit.

Industrial metal panels and digital tickers lined the perimeter, housing an area dedicated to an unfolding schedule of events, designed to foster community and educate their consumer base.

In order to stay relevant, larger brands should be inspired by a start-up mentality: releasing prototypes, testing the waters, learning through failure and adapting to change. Now more than ever, the physical retail space is more important as a tool to validate product and retail priorities and collate valuable customer data.

Hot:Second

Digital fashion is the hot topic within the creative and retail worlds, as we move into a further digitalised society and seek clothing with a low environmental impact, how can the clothes we wear complement this lifestyle shift? This transition to digital fashion has the potential to significantly transform and disrupt the retail industry, as we may see entry-level luxury purchasing such as fragrances and handbags replaced with accessible clothing for our digital avatars. Fuelled by the COVID-19 outbreak, stores will need to credibly integrate digital channels into the physical retail journey.

One start-up exploring this new world is Hot:Second, who have moved the conversation forward with a highly experimental proto-flagship store selling virtual style to curious consumers in London’s Shoreditch.

Upon visiting the store, users entered dressing booths containing ‘magic mirrors’ that virtually animated outfits onto their bodies, enabling ensembles to be swapped and changed within seconds. From a Christopher Raeburn parka to David Bowie’s iconic kabuki jumpsuit, the space transforms into an impossible dressing-up box. Once visitors have found their perfect look, it could be shared with the masses via email.

Hot:Second spotlighted British charity ‘Love Not Landfill’ in their window display, a pile of discarded clothing emphasised the sustainability of the initiative, whilst a less-is-more approach was taken towards designing the space, large panels of corrugated plastic concealed the booths illuminated by hot-pink neon.

It’s clear that the future is digital. Digital-only clothing is no longer the stuff of science fiction, the first digital blockchain dress created by Dutch startup The Fabricant sold for $9,500. With COVID-19 currently forcing online shopping to become the norm for all but essential groceries and medicine, some would suggest the rise of online shopping could obliterate the physical retail environment.

However data driven digital first brands who already have huge success online demonstrate that this is far from the case by testing new ideas with pop up spaces then moving into the physical retail domain with force.

Casper

As many historic mattress brands scale down and close stores, disruptive US brand Casper has opened 200 permanent stores in 2019 after a series of pop ups to test new markets and learn from their consumers. Their New York City prototype store was designed as a testing ground to trail new products and measure how visitors interacted with them. By shifting their development phase into the store, Casper can make adjustments based on consumer feedback in real time.

Designed to be the antithesis of a traditional mattress store, the New York flagship integrates engaging spaces such as small ‘birdhouse’ structures which simulate a bedroom so consumers can try out products in a private area. Sleeping pods, whimsical decor and no-frills product testing make for an unconventional and fun experience.

It is essential that the pop up integrates digital in a seamless way, to offer the utmost convenience for the consumer, and to learn from their shopping behaviours. It is no longer important whether the purchase happens in-store or online, both spaces must coexist to give the shopper a fully rounded brand experience.

In order to build meaningful relationships with the customer, and drive brand loyalty the physical store needs to offer the consumer something transformative, special and unique, that cannot be experienced through a screen. A pop up space gives a brand an opportunity to be bold, surprising and test new waters, creating real excitement without long term commitment.