RETAIL POP-UPS
journey, “knowing that consumers are likely to pick one brand over another if it promises an inspiring in-store environment”, adds Malone.
AN EXCLUSIVE TOUCH
Another event that leaned into the trend with amazing results is beauty subscription site Beauty Pie’s Warehouse of Dreams pop-up in London’s Covent Garden in June. It honed in on the D2C brand’s messaging that, by being online-only, it cuts out the ‘middleman’ and does not charge consumers for retailer mark-ups. Created in association with Backlash, the pop-up gave visitors the opportunity to go behind-the-scenes to learn how Beauty Pie operates in a ‘working’ warehouse-style environment. “We wanted people to feel like they were sneaking into the back door of Beauty Pie’s operations – like it was a secret,” explains Peake. “But the challenge was how do we get people through a shop where we’ve got so much product? The brand had around 240 skus which we couldn’t stock in front-of-house due to the size of the space, so we had to be creative in terms of how we got people through the checkout system.”
The pop-up was mocked-up similarly to retail shop Argos’ stock system, with a hidden stock room in the back. The front, meanwhile, was about sampling and experimenting. People could smell, touch and try certain products dressed in Beauty Pie branded pink hardhats and high-visibility vests, with help from on- the-floor warehouse experts. Visitors would do
Beauty Pie adopted an Argos-style stock system to showcase its 240 skus
their ‘stock take’ on a clipboard, which they then took to the till, with a team hidden behind-the-scenes knocking up the order.
“They really let us have creative free rein on it because they were a disruptive online brand that did not necessarily have a lot of physical assets,” says Peake. “‘We are looking at doing an activation with them in 2023 too, so we designed these pieces with sustainability in mind, knowing that they can be easily re-skinned and repainted for future events.”
THE NEXT STAGE OF EVOLUTION Some of these pop-ups have even led to permanent bricks-and-mortar stores, showing the power of the revamped concept.
Fragrance house Diptyque opened its new UK flagship in Sloane Square, London, in November after its Chelsea- based Teatime in Roses pop-up in May was such a success. “We know that the pandemic really drove up store vacancy rates, so pop-ups enable brands to test a physical space first without having to invest in a full store portfolio,” explains Malone. “It is partially why we are seeing such a resurgence in pop-up activity.” Sephora, meanwhile, hosted a luxury pop-up in London in October to celebrate re-entering the UK market as an online site, before an official bricks-and-mortar shop launches in March 2023.
The pop-up included masterclasses, bespoke make-up applications, chances to interact with the industry elite and more, using this
experiential event to drive further enthusiasm for the upcoming permanent store opening.
But the evolution of the beauty
pop-up is not done. Experts believe the concept will continue to develop in the coming year to further meet consumers’ new needs.
Location will be a key factor going forward, with bricks-and-mortar pop-up spaces becoming more readily available in areas outside of city capitals. “In the UK, London will become quite a saturated market for pop-ups, which is why I think we will see brands starting to roll out pop-ups in cities like Manchester, Birmingham and
52 January 2023
Liverpool,” says Peake. “London has a lot of bricks-and-mortar pop-up spaces, but when you go to other cities these kinds of locations are few and far between at the moment. This will change.” To build maximum excitement, the length of time a pop-up exists for will change from a weekend or seven-day event to longer activations spanning three weeks or a month.
Harry Styles’ lifestyle brand Pleasing has already done this, hosting month-long pop-ups in London, New York and Los Angeles from November to December to celebrate its one-year anniversary.
The brand filled the space with limited edition apparel, enabled visitors to buy beauty items from past collections no longer available, and gave guests the chance to create bespoke nail polish boxes from its pick ‘n’ mix bar. Pleasing knew the level of exclusivity the online-only brand was offering consumers would build word-of-mouth on social media, and hosting the event for a month shows the business’ faith in the project.
“Pop-ups are not a low investment activation, yet, extending your opening times does not add that much to your budget and, as a result, your brand awareness becomes so much greater,” adds Peake. “Word-of-mouth is still key to a pop-up’s success and it is annoying when you see something online and you want to go but it is already gone.” The exclusive element to draw in customers will also be built on, with more pop-ups becoming ticketed events and offering exclusive goodie bags. “Quite often a deterrent for pop-ups is that they are too crowded or busy, which means people do not actually get to enjoy the immersive experience as intended,” explains Malone. “So, this ticketed strategy works well from a logistical perspective. For example, Kylie Jenner’s Kylie Cosmetics pop-up in the summer enabled ticket holders to skip the queue to gain immediate access.”
Brands are also more openly talking about promising goodie bags to further boost interest.
“Offering a goodie bag to the first 100 people who visit a pop-up drives excitement and makes consumers want to be the first in line,” adds Malone. “It also particularly resonates amid the current economic challenges.” One thing is for sure, future beauty pop-ups won’t be run of the mill
cosmeticsbusiness.com
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