Pop-up stores have become a profitable marketing strategy for shopping malls looking to increase revenue and attract foot traffic. Challenging the traditional extended lease models and large transaction-based flagship stores that shopping malls rely on for income, pop-up stores are becoming more and more popular with landlords, retailers, and customers alike. They offer unique and engaging experiences for customers and allow retailers and landlords to showcase and test new products in high-traffic zones for optimum returns on investment.
What are the benefits of a pop-up shop in a shopping mall?
The pop-up industry has grown to approximately $10 billion in sales, according to the PopUp Republic, and launching a pop-up store is around 80% less expensive compared to opening up a traditional brick-and-mortar location, according to StoreFront.
Besides those benefits alone, there are many reasons pop-up stores are beneficial for customers, retailers, and landlords. Let’s explore some of them.
Customer benefits
Pop-up stores add more assorted and fluctuating products and services, providing customers with a wider variety and a more exciting, engaging shopping experience.
With more diversity, customers have more opportunities to explore new brands and products they may not have tried before.
Pop-up shops are more likely to offer discounts, giveaways, and promotions than traditional retail establishments.
Retailer benefits
A pop-up store in a new location with high foot traffic enables a brand to reach more potential customers.
Retailers can use temporary pop-up stores to deliver engaging customer experiences and reinforce brand messages to build brand loyalty.
Measuring the effectiveness of pop-up store marketing initiatives through retail analytics provides insight into consumer behavior and how to optimize future marketing initiatives.
A temporary pop-up store can help retailers shift stock before it reaches the end of its shelf life.
A pop-up store is an innovative way to showcase and highlight a new product or range and test consumer interest.
Landlord benefits
Shopping mall landlords can use pop-up stores to fill vacant storefronts that would otherwise sit empty, waiting for a long-term tenant.
Pop-up stores provide shopping malls with an exciting and innovative attraction that draws in more foot traffic.
Short-term leases can be set up and arranged in a short period, and the rental can be based on the footfall rate in certain zones.
Shopping malls can test out a brand looking for a longer-term lease in the future or more pop-ups.
How do landlords and retailers find optimum locations for pop-up stores in a shopping mall?
Location is arguably the most significant factor to consider when implementing a pop-up store in a shopping mall. They must be located in an area that sees high volumes of foot traffic and will attract the proper attention from targeted shoppers. By collecting and analyzing shopper data from a footfall counting analytics solution, landlords and retailers can pinpoint the best location to open a pop-up store.
A footfall counting analytics solution can identify high traffic zones through heat map analysis. It shows how the tenant mix influences sales at surrounding stores and whether customers are likely to shop at particular groups of stores during a single mall visit by tracking customer behavior and movement and trends over a period. Footfall counter sensors placed in strategic areas throughout a shopping mall give managers an overall view of shopping mall and individual store performance, and how customers are using and traversing the mall.
How do landlords and retailers measure pop-up store success?
Because the performance of any pop-up store is highly dependent on visitor traffic, analyzing this specific data is essential. Footfall counting analytics offers the following insights on pop-up store performance:
Traffic count measures the total number of customers who interact with a pop-up store during a given period the total number of customers who enter the mall during that time.
Conversion rate is calculated by dividing the number of transactions by the number of visitors, times 100, for a percentage value of converted sales at a pop-up store.
The average transaction rate measures the average spend value per transaction during a given time at a pop-up store.
Traffic count, conversion rate, and average transaction rate provide details on total traffic, changing traffic patterns throughout a day, how much traffic has converted into a transaction, and the average transaction size. These KPIs help shopping malls and retailers measure performance, plan daily operations, such as staffing and inventory management, optimize marketing initiatives, and improve customer experience.
Vemcount, an advanced footfall counting and analytics solution that combines cutting-edge sensor technology with powerful BI analytics software, provides an easy-to-understand and user-friendly report module. It shows performance for all stores in one report or divides stores into categories, e.g., pop-up stores, clothing stores, restaurants, etc. Tenants can easily report sales figures online from any computer, smartphone, or tablet. Shopping mall operators can strategically segment high-performing areas for pop-up stores, anchor stores, compelling tenant mix, and define more realistic rental agreements that benefit stores and investors.
Get in touch with us to find out more about Vemcount solutions for shopping mall performance optimization.
