7: Small Store Design and Marketing Effects: Experiential Developments in SME Fashion Pop-Up Store Strategies

This chapter explores why the pop-up store has gained popularity among fashion SMEs, examines the role of experiential retailing in the pop-up space and suggests how it may be used strategically as a retail format in the future by SMEs. The impact of embedding experiential elements within a pop-up is also considered from the SME’s perspective post pop-up. The case study focus is on Canada, a burgeoning country comprising many fashion SMEs, who are experimenting with new forms of retail, investigating not only past pop-up stores but focusing on the implemented strategy development of one case in particular.

Due to the fashion industry’s dynamic nature, the growth of digital and consumers’ increasing desire for novel experiences, fashion retailers have had to continuously rethink retail spaces to attract consumers in-store (Clark, 2013; Pedroni, 2011). This has resulted in a new way of approaching fashion retail, through experiential retailing. Originally grounded in the marketing discipline, this concept has spread to the physical retail environment, aiming to create spaces that fully engage customers within the retail experience (Carú & Cova, 2003).