PopUp Republic Launches First National Online Marketplace for Pop-Up Merchants
CHICAGO (PRWEB) October 28, 2014 -- The first online national marketplace that allows pop-up merchants to effectively compete for the heart – and the shopping dollar – of the American consumer has been launched by PopUp Republic, a social media marketing company focused exclusively on pop-ups.
Dubbed PopUps Across America (http://www.popupsacrossamerica.com), the online shopping mall features products that are offered by merchants whose upcoming pop-ups are listed on PopUp Republic’s national pop-up directory (http://www.popuprepublic.com). PopUps Across America is the first online marketplace where artisans can gain national exposure on a site devoted solely to pop-ups – temporary places of business such as seasonal shops, farmers markets, flea markets and arts and crafts fairs that sell products and food.
“This new e-commerce site opens a whole new world to the pop-up entrepreneur who otherwise would have a customer base limited to consumers who live nearby,” said Jeremy Baras, president of PopUp Republic. PopUps Across America can take an artisanal pop-up that is open in a small storefront in a small town for only a week and enable it to sell its goods nationwide. We timed this launch around the holidays, a time when pop-ups are extremely popular.”
In fact, when asked to name the top three reasons to visit a pop-up, a new poll commissioned by Popup Republic of more than 1,000 U.S. adults revealed “finding seasonal products” ranked first, cited by 61 percent of respondents.*
“Imagine being an independent jewelry maker who opens up a two-week pop-up shop in a small venue on Main Street. Even with a good four-week promotional campaign in advance of an opening, the retailer will still be limited largely to the local community for sales,” Baras added. “Now, during these six weeks, one can showcase and actually sell goods to a national audience via PopUps Across America.
“Artisans might get lost on a national e-commerce site because the customer first has to hear about the artisan and then navigate to the appropriate website to find those items online,” Baras said.
In keeping with the pop-up tradition and fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) urgency, the online store is available to pop-up merchants only during the period of time that their pop-up is listed on the directory, a listing that automatically expires when the brick-and-mortar pop-up closes.
“We want that same exclusivity, that same urgency, to extend from the brick-and-mortar pop-up to the digital pop-up,” Baras explained. “This is designed to get the consumer to act quickly because both the online and offline stores will be short-lived.”
This exclusivity mindset is reinforced by the new PopUp Republic poll. Nearly four in 10 of Americans surveyed – 39% – said a top reason to visit a pop-up store is to find a new or unique product or service.*
The common feature of all pop-ups is they are temporary and can last an hour, a day, a week or months, but by definition, have a beginning and an end, according to Baras. Additionally, as a “marketplace” implies, PopUps Across America offers both retail and dining pop-ups. A pop-up restaurant host can promote its restaurant on the pop-up mall, posting menus, product photos, and even selling tickets to the event.
Retailers are discovering that in this new world of retail, brick-and-mortar benefits from digital, and vice versa. Recent trends point to online retailers using pop-ups as a better way to introduce customers to new lines and products, reduce product returns and improve the customer experience.
Founded in 2012 in Boston and now based in Chicago, PopUp Republic is a leading service provider for the burgeoning pop-up industry. Among its many offerings are an online directory that displays thousands of pop-ups occurring nationwide providing a one-stop shop for shopping enthusiasts, and an array of marketing services to help pop-up hosts promote their spaces. Information is available at http://www.popuprepublic.com.
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*The PopUp Republic poll results are based on the responses of 1,224 adults, ages 18 and older and living in the United States, who completed an online survey Sept. 29-30, 2014. The sample was managed to reflect the demographics of the U.S. population.
Ben Arens, L.C. Williams & Associates, +1 (312) 565-4626, [email protected]
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