Pop Up to Pop Out: 8 Pop Up Shop Ideas and Best Practices

A well-planned pop up can introduce new customers to your brand and build loyalty. Check out our list of 8 pop up shop ideas and best practices that can’t miss.

We live in an age of miracles and wonders, and almost nowhere is that more apparent than in online business. With a few minutes, a website template, and a great idea, anyone can start a successful business. Once online sales are really rolling, though, you may start thinking about setting up a pop-up shop event to interact with new and potential customers face to face.

Pop up shops are a fun way to allow your customers to check out your product in person and interact with your business on a more personal level.

They are especially popular around the holidays, and they’re a great addition to many holiday markets. If you’re thinking about doing one of these events soon, check out these pop-up shop ideas to make your event a success.

Set Event Goals

What are your desired goals for the event?

What is your primary objective by having this pop-up shop?

Do you want to increase brand awareness? Do you want to make direct sales at your event? Do you want to meet vendors or get subscriptions to your website to sell your products and services online?

Write it down in your phone, notebook or laptop to stay on track with the objectives you make when having a pop-up shop.

Pick a Great Location

One of the most important things you’ll want to do when planning the perfect pop up shop is picking a great location.

Having the right location can mean the difference between a successful pop-up and an unsuccessful one.

There are a few factors you’ll want to look for when you’re shopping around for the perfect place to set up shop.

The most important thing you’ll want to look for in your pop up location is good foot traffic.

A local Farmers Market or a retail shopping area close to a busy street, or an outdoor shopping center all make for good locations. Having a location with some architectural interest can also be a perk for your event.

You can also contact your local Chamber of Commerce to get more information on businesses that would like to cross promote and are complementary to both businesses.

Make It an Event

Social media marketing is one of the most powerful tools for getting the word out about your event.

An estimated 68 percent of U.S. adults have a Facebook page, so setting up an event on Facebook maximizes your chances of reaching potentially interested customers.

It’s worth setting aside some budget for Facebook advertising to boost your post to for a wider audience and reach more people around the area of your event.

When you set up an event page for your pop up shop, make sure you include as much information as possible.

Here is a short video on the basics of getting your Facebook Event up and running.

Obviously, you’ll need to include the dates, times, and locations. But also add a description with any special deals and offers you may have. Encourage people to share and like your event post to maximize your reach.

Keep It Local

One of the best ways to take full advantage of your social media marketing plan is to geofence the advertising you do.

In effect, what this will do is limit the scope of your ad so that only people local to your area will see the ad.

Although limiting the reach of your ad may not sound like a good thing, it’s actually a huge positive.

Limiting your ads to the local area will make sure you don’t spend money advertising to people who have no chance of coming to your event.

If you’re located in Los Angeles, having your ad reach people in New York does nobody any good. When you’re setting up your ad, make sure to set it to only reach people within fifty miles of your event.

Figure out which social media platform has the biggest impact, response, and engagement for your business and start with that.

Focus on that platform as your primary source to get the word out and geofence your ads 2-3 weeks before your pop up event to hone your marketing message and get a picture of the interest around your event. You can geofence ads using Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Google ads.

Give Them a Sign

Having visible signage is crucial for hosting a successful pop-up event. Unlike a regular shop, you don’t have the inherent knowledge that your business is in operation there.

So you’re going to make sure you have plenty of signs pointing potential customers your way.

Getting attention and letting people know about your pop up shop should be one of the top 5 priorities in your marketing plan.

You want to make sure your signs provide the necessary information that will help your potential customers take action and make a buying decision.

You can get creative with the way you present your signage.

You can print a 6 x 2 foot Standing Banner to get attention from people walking through the event and provide your viewing audience with quality images and details about your product or service.

Branded signage can guide your audience and inform them in detail about your product or service. This is great for pre-approving your customers since they already know a little bit about your business by reading the sign you’ve put on display for them.

These banners can be used throughout the year to help inform and serve as your first line of defense when branding and promoting your business. 

Get Some Assistance

Having a great sign is certainly important, but there’s no substitute for a person to grab customers attention.

In preparation for your event, you’re certain to make sure you have enough staff to work the event.

But don’t forget to hire some attractive assistants to help you greet people and show them what your product or services can do for them. 

Stationing someone with small samples, giveaways, or brochures on the sidewalk outside your location can be a great way to draw in customers.

If it’s around the holidays, consider giving away hot chocolate or cider to the people coming to your pop up.

Map It Out

You want to make sure interested customers can find their way to your store or event.

Since you don’t usually operate on these premises, your customers may have a hard time finding the event or your pop up booth.

Providing a map they can print at home can be a simple way to have people coming to your pop up shop.

If you’re in a mall, stationing some of those assistants we talked about at the entrance to the mall with maps leading to your specific location is a good idea. Beyond that, you want to make sure your Facebook event includes an interactive map. You could even draw footprints in sidewalk chalk leading into your store.

Get the Tech

If you mainly run an online store, you may not have a POS system, but you can get a card swiper from Square or Paypal to collect payments.

One of the advantages of an online business is you need very few tools to get your business off the ground.

But when you’re planning a pop-up shop, it’s worth the investment to get the latest sales tech.

Thanks to companies like Square and PayPal, it’s never been easier to get started with a point of sale system.

In some cases, you may not even have to pay for the swiper; just create an account, and they’ll send you the tool to plug into your phone.

The main thing you want to avoid is having to enter credit card numbers by hand while impatient customers wait in a growing line.

Making the Most of These Pop Up Shop Ideas

Pop up shops can be a great way to grow customer excitement, let new customers check out your product, and give you a chance to interact with your customers in person. Make sure you have a great location and advertising plan, and you will be in business in no time!

One of the more creative pop up shop ideas is to create custom t-shirts to sell or give away at your event. At Los Angeles Print and Design, we can help you create ultra-soft t-shirts that your customers will love. To get a quote for your custom shirts, you can email us at info@laprint.com today!