The foot traffic on the UK’s High Streets is still far lower than it was before the pandemic, and many of the stores are vacant. On the other hand, some think that internet companies setting up shop in pop-up stores can contribute to the solution.
Asya Ter-Hovakimyan, who founded the online fashion company OMNISS, thinks that visiting a store is a wonderful experience since “it’s so important for clothes to try things on and see them in real life.”
Along with other online entrepreneurs selected by the Mayor of London’s Office, she experienced her first taste of High Street retail at the London Made Me pop-up shop on Carnaby Street.
She saw it as an opportunity to meet devoted clients she had previously only spoken with virtually.
The London Made Me shop filled a niche left vacant when Dutch fashion company Scotch & Soda closed all its UK locations. It was operational throughout the profitable month preceding Christmas.
Hannah Wild, an ethical designer, was likewise opened-minded by her encounter in this store. Using leftover party balloon material to create fashion items like headbands and rings, she has amassed a cult following on the internet.
“The feedback from customers is invaluable and it’s transforming my business,” she claims.
Could pop-up stores, which are essentially internet enterprises, be the key to revitalizing the UK’s failing High Streets?
“There used to be the fear that e-commerce could sound the death knell for the High Street,” says Natalie Berg, a retail analyst, “but we’ve learned that physical and digital retail can happily co-exist and there is [in fact] a convergence.”
According to a PwC analysis from 2023, online purchasing, which increased rapidly during the pandemic, has now stabilized and accounts for about 35% of total sales. Still, the High Street’s foot traffic is 10–20% less than it was before COVID.
However, Ms. Berg notes that it is increasingly acknowledged that internet companies can benefit the High Street. She goes on to say that “O-2-O”—online to offline—is a word that is widely used in the retail industry.
“Everyone from the big giants like Amazon and Asos, down to much smaller independent businesses, are looking to open stores on the High Street, to engage with customers in a real-life setting, with a seamless experience.”
Pop-up stores give small, internet enterprises that visibility.
With the assistance of a social enterprise known as Creative United, the London Made Me pop-up shop was organized as part of the Mayor’s Creative Enterprise Zones program. However, companies have identified this market niche and are making money year-round by operating pop-ups.
Tillie Peel, a former vintage clothing trader, founded The Pop-Up Club in 2017 to provide local online businesses that prioritize craft goods and sustainability with a physical storefront experience. More than twenty-five vacant shop sites in Manchester, London, Brighton, and Chelmsford have been renovated by her.
Her most recent one is in a space that was left empty when tea merchant T2 closed all of its UK locations, close to Victoria station in central London. It’s just enjoying the hectic Christmas season, but has been extended for another month at least.
She arranges her makeshift stores and handles problems like personnel. An further incentive for commercial landlords who take on a pop-up in an empty retail space is that they frequently pay reduced business rates.
She chooses about thirty designers by hand to have their creations displayed in each shop; according to her, these companies have brought in over £1.3 million in sales over the previous six years.
“It has empowered me to launch new items and conduct trials,” Nephthys Foster, a Pop Up Club original art print vendor, states. Despite having over 30,000 Instagram followers, this is her first time shopping. She claims that she’s also built some priceless supplier connections that will aid her business.
Some companies are experimenting with various approaches to offering the pop-up experience.
Due to the website Appear Here, landlords and owners of commercial property can now rent out premises in a manner similar to Airbnb. These could be little areas inside larger stores, conventional storefronts in arcades, outdoor market stalls, or even warehouses.
Founded in 2019, Sook has adopted a radically different strategy, establishing an empire of 13 pop-up places, including locations in major UK cities such as Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, and London.
Although it held the long-term lease for each store, it purposefully decorated them as blank canvases, adding adjustable front signage and digital screens to the walls. It could therefore be customized by a business that “popped in” by uploading its own digital branding. Rather of competing for space with other retailers, these businesses would have exclusive use of the store.
Clients drawn to Sook included Danielle Mass, an entrepreneur and fashion influencer who was one of the top sellers on the internet marketplace DePop.
However, at the close of 2023, Sook stopped business, despite its early and prosperous expansion. Founder John Hoyle stated at the time, “We still believe that our model is the future of the High Street,” although he later acknowledged he was unable to raise enough money to support the business.
In part because they are difficult to define, pop-up shops make it difficult to measure their impact. According to a survey published in March of last year, their population in the UK increased by about 18% in the preceding 12 months.
According to Natalie Berg, pop-ups are not a foolproof answer to the issue of abandoned stores.
“Pop-up shops are a fantastic way to inject character into our increasingly homogenous High Streets, but they are not a panacea,” she asserts.
“Pop-ups are a bit of a patchwork movement, and results are not always guaranteed. Even the greatest ones could find it difficult to get traction because they are by nature transient.”
Many “pop-up entrepreneurs” experience retail for the first time “in real life” when they work in a store. These internet companies experience the traditional advantages of High Street retail, such as foot traffic and in-person interactions, without having to worry about long-term financial obligations like business rates or leases.
As a result, some could even wish to locate their companies permanently on our High Streets.
Nephthys Foster acknowledges, “I definitely think I’ll have my own shop in the future – I’m manifesting it!” after speaking with a customer who recognizes her from Instagram.