Pop Up Retailing

8.

Vetements x humains Pop-Up Retailing

Originally popularised by Levi's and Swatch’s 1999 pop-up store (Lassus and Friere, 2014:61), ‘ pop-up brand stores are becoming a popular experiential marketing tool in luxury retail, aimed at creating brand experiences and increasing word of mouth (WOM)’ (Klein et al.,2016: 5671). Pop-up stores offer hedonic value to consumers defined by Babin, Darden, and Griffin (1994, cited in Klein et al, 2016:5762) ‘ as the entertainment fun associated with in-store shopping’ . This concept also taps into hedonic consumption, open for a fleeting period, it triggers a “see it now, buy it now” sentiment in consumers (Lassus and Friere, 2014:62).

Pop-up retailing is a key marketing tool for luxury houses, with this market segment being at risk of being viewed as intimidating and unaffordable, Lassus and Friere (2014:63) note that pop-up stores offer a means of charming consumers who might otherwise be newcomers to the market. Re-enforcing my decision to appeal to Generation Z, research indicates that young single women, in particular, are most enticed by pop-up stores ‘due to the fact that they have more free time and can focus more easily on window shopping, visiting ephemeral stores, purchasing luxury products and sharing their experiences on the Internet’ (Lassus and Friere 2014:66).