POP-UP STORE

(tool)

Brief description

Testing face to face interactions with customers to see if they really make a purchase; use a retail store that is opened temporarily to sell products, usually a trendy or seasonal product.

Step

Prototype Testing

Input

MVPs that can benefit from being expose to a real-life context experience

Output

Feedback and learnings

Refined solutions based on direct user feedback and observations

Time

Preparation, high

Execution, few hours to days

Analysis, high

Difficulty

5/5

People

8-20 (participants giving feedback)

2-5 (coordinators of the experiment)

Quick Guide

Find a location. Get the required lease, license, permits, and/or insurance.
Design the experience. Plan the logistics of how it will operate and the communication or marketing plan.
Promote the dates it will be open to potential users and customers.
Open your pop-up store.
Gather evidence you need from users.
Close your pop-up store.
Review your evidence with the team. Review how many meaningful interactions took place.
Use feedback to iterate on the experience before running another pop-up store or doing other experiment(s).

Benefits

Helps you understand how to advertise and create buzz for your shop/product.
Allows you to understand whether users want your product through solid evidence like product sales and customer visits.
Encourages direct contact with people to understand what got them excited and what made them skeptical.
Creates a scenario where you can interact with potential customers and understand if they are a good fit with your product.

Helpful Tips

A pop-up store is not ideal for B2B businesses. Consider a booth at a conference instead.
Setup time for a pop-up store can take days or weeks, depending on the locations available.
The time to maintain open a pop-up store is generally short, from a few hours to a few days.