20 of The Most Creative Pop Up Shops – An Analysis
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While the intriguingly subtle yet pleasantly in-your-face appearance of an attention-drawing pop up shop can offer some great, unexpected bargains and shopping benefits for consumers, it is often the retailer, or anybody else behind the pop up shop that ultimately walks away with the biggest overall value out of having a pop up shop erected.
It goes way beyond the bargain, picked up by the converted consumer, subconsciously developing a sense of exclusivity, driven by the suggestion of a brand going out of their way to cater to their needs by coming to them though, with that impression possibly leading to a lifelong situation where that consumer not only now has a sense of wonder, but is also more compelled to follow that instinct to seek out your brand and benefit further.
In an analysis of 20 of the most creative pop up shops, it becomes increasingly clear that the quintessential pop up shop trades a bit of value (the offered bargain) for a long-term interest in their products, services or experiences, after which time that value can be converted into a consumer-level longing for quality.
In no particular order:
- Reebok’s 30-day New York Flash Store
- Target Store’s Bullseye Bazaar
- Nescafe’s tent coffee shop
- Godiva’s St. Valentine’s Day boutique pop up
- Arnsdorf Fashion House
- Prada’s double-storey five-month store
- UNIQLO’s
This first group of seven creative pop up stores represents relatively well-known to very well-known brands and while one or two of the pop up concepts in this first group are interchangeable with those of some of the groups to follow, the trend synonymous with these stores depicts one of established brands that sell well naturally, but create a brand experience with more of an emphasis on the products they sell than the design of the pop up store.
The main creative element depicted by these pop up stores is in the actual products they offer, for instance Nescafe’s tent wasn’t exactly what you’d call outrageous and the creativity is contained in the products they offer.
The same applies to Godiva’s boutique pop up shop, as well as Target’s Bullsye, while UNIQLO’s cubes and Arnsdorf’s panty-hose-web design are also worth mentioning under some of the categories to come.
- Arnsdorf’s panty-hose-web Fashion House
- UNIQLO’s cubes
- Illy’s fold-up crate
- Hermes’ steel container silk bar
- Aesop’s cavernous boxes
- Kate Spade’s Igloo
- Puma’s steel-container city
- The London Poundshop
- AllSaints steel container
The above-listed group of pop up stores demonstrates a little bit more (a whole lot more) creativity on the side of pop up shop agencies. These pop up shops are as much about the design statement they make with their exterior as their interiors, as well as the products and experiences they promote.
Illy’s fold-out, fold-in crate design, Aesop’s cavernous box illusion and Kate Spade’s Igloo have no problem turning heads and they just about serve as the ultimate epitomes of what a pop up shop is all about.
The London Poundshop focuses more on the interior, while the AllSaints steel container pop up shop, Puma’s steel-container city pop up mega-store and Hermes’ orange steel container silk bar depict the creative variety a pop up shop agency can amass with a steel container.
- Kate Spade’s Igloo
- Godiva’s St. Valentine’s Day boutique pop up
These two pop up shops are worth mentioning again, in another category, that being seasonal pop up shops.
While both are very creative in their designs — an Igloo serving hot chocolate inside, in the case of the Kate Spade pop up shop and a love-themed decoration of existing products in the case of Godiva’s boutique, they are also seasonal in that they take advantage of the current season to make their statements and impressions.
What could be better than an igloo, serving hot beverages inside, during a cold winter’s afternoon?
- eBay’s “physical internet” pop up store
- Zuo Corp. infinite space pop up shop
These two pop up shop designs dabble in the world of the supremely creative, with the eBay pop up shop representing a live version of what the world knows eBay to be online. That same cramped feeling shoppers get when shopping for goods on the eBay website is replicated by the pop up shop agency which did the pop up shop design and implementation for eBay — stuffed boxes and a garage-sale like collection of all sorts of goods.
Zuo Corp.’s infinite space pop up shop is one of those unique experiences which depict the upper sphere of pop up shops agencies’ creativity. From the outside, this pop up shop appears to be a small pop up store, but on the inside, an illusion of infinite space is created by the use of mirrors and their reflections.
Things can get as creative as you like with pop up shops, as long as you choose a globally-positioned pop up shops agency to conceptualize a pop up idea, for you and your company or organization, erect the structure and drive a sales and marketing buzz that could have a long-lasting, profound impact on your endeavors.
