Ephemeral Retailing: Pop-up Stores in a Postmodern Consumption Era (Routledge Focus on Business and Management)

Often described as the "hottest" retail phenomenon, ephemeral retail concerns the growth of pop-up stores as a new mode of retailing. These temporary stores "pop-up" without notice, quickly attract crowds, then disappear or morph into something else. Although they share similarities with traditional physical stores and online stores, ephemeral stores outshine existing retail formats as they have many unique and differentiating characteristics. These stores are becoming more popular among distribution channels as they offer exclusive and surprising retail experiences. Many established brands have already integrated these new points of sale into their distribution channels, while other brands are adopting them to raise communication, awareness, sales or just for experimentation. This phenomenon is finding its place amongst retailers not only for its efficiency and effectiveness but also for its unique impact, providing a sense of novelty that makes it particularly attractive to postmodern consumers seeking hedonic experiences. This concise text introduces all aspects of this growing phenomenon and contextualises it within existing channels of distribution. It explores brand atmospheric interventions that are designed to affect customer emotions, behaviours or experiences, as well as practices retailers adopt to build relationships with their customers. It will be of interest to scholars and advanced students in retail marketing and branding. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Acknowledgements Introduction 1 Towards a comprehension of ephemeral retail stores An overview on point-of-sale development Temporary, yet persistent in time From ephemeral to today’s “pop-up” Pop-up store characteristics Why are ephemeral stores unique? Pop-up store forms or formats Communicating pop-up stores: before; during and after their appearance Why have pop-up stores become interesting? 2 Traditional store atmospheres and their effects on customers Stimulating, mesmerising, magical! Theatrical points of sales The retail environment Places, transactional places and consumption places Servicescapes The point-of-sale’s atmosphere Stimuli and responses Brand positioning by means of store atmospheres 3 Customer reactions to atmospheric stimuli Postmodern consumers The constant quest for meaning Customers patronising retail stores: who are they? Emotional consumer reactions to the point of sale Customer intentions following emotional reactions Customers behavioural reactions at the point of sale The common pillars between ephemeral stores and experiential stores 4 Ephemeral retailing: an experiential era From traditional marketing to experiential marketing Experiential contexts Customer experiences Types of customer experiences Value. What can be dispensed from customer experiences? Conclusion what can be learned from traditional store atmospheres? The effect ephemeral retail outlets on customer reactions: a concluding overview Index "Often described as the 'hottest' retail phenomenon, ephemeral retail concerns the growth of pop-up stores as a new mode of retailing. These temporary stores are designed to 'pop-up' without notice, quickly attract crowds, then disappear or morph into something else. Although they share similarities with traditional physical stores and online stores, ephemeral stores outshine existing retail formats as they have many unique and differentiating characteristics. These stores are becoming more popular among distribution channels as they offer exclusive and surprising retail experiences. Many established brands are already integrating these new points of sale into their distribution channels while other brands are adopting them to raise communication, awareness, sales or just for experimentation. This phenomenon is finding its place amongst retailers not only for its efficiency and effectiveness, but also for its unique impact, providing a sense of novelty which makes it particularly attractive to postmodern consumers seeking hedonic experiences. This concise text introduces all aspects of this growing phenomenon and contextualizes it within existing channels of distribution. It explores brand atmospheric interventions that are designed to affect customer emotions, behaviors or experiences, as well as practices retailers adopt to build relationships with their customers. It will be of interest to scholars and advanced students in retail marketing, branding and marketing"-- Provided by publisher