Pop-up retail

Pop-up retail, also known as pop-up store (pop-up shop in the UK, Australia and Ireland) or flash retailing, is a trend of opening short-term sales spaces that last for days to weeks before closing down, often to latch onto a fad or scheduled event.

The modern trend of pop-up retail started in Los Angeles in the late 1990s, and went on to become used internationally, being particularly popular in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Australia. Pop-up retail was an increasing factor during the retail apocalypse of the 2010s, including seasonal Halloween retailers who operate stores in vacant spaces during the season. In 2018 the pop-up industry was estimated to be worth $50 billion.

History

The term pop-up retail can be traced to the late 1990s, although temporary retail options, such as street markets and fairs, have existed for centuries.

European Christmas markets, seasonal farmers' markets, holiday fireworks stands, Halloween costume shops, consumer expos, and event-specific concessions are other examples of temporary retailing.

The Ritual Expo was one of the first iterations of the modern pop-up retail store. Not yet referred to as pop-up retail, the 1997 Los Angeles event was created by Patrick Courrielche and was later branded as a one-day "ultimate hipster mall.” The event quickly caught the eye of large brands that saw the potential of creating short-term experiences to promote their products to target audiences. AT&T, Levi-Strauss, and Motorola worked with Courrielche to create pop-up shopping experiences across the country to market their products to young audiences.

In November 2002, discount retailer Target took over a 220-foot-long boat at Chelsea Piers for a two-week stay on the Hudson River that coincided with Black Friday.