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The pop-up movement is showing no signs of slowing down, for retailers, with findings like that of the Halo report in 2018 confirming what we all guessed: the opening of one new physical store in a particular market results in an average 37 per cent increase in overall traffic to that retailer’s website, compared with web traffic before the store’s opening.
Christmas trade in 2019 presented an array of pop-up shopping experiences for the consumer. One of those was that produced by Adornment Studio (ADS) on behalf of their client Runaway The Label in Robina Town Centre on the Gold Coast.
ADS is a Sydney-based creative agency that specialises in pop-up retail, brand activations, events and public relations. We sat down with ADS director, Dominique Parisi, to unwrap some of the elements introduced in their latest project with the online juggernaut and how she managed to digitise the pop-up store experience using Digital Smart Mirrors by ShopExp, a Melbourne-based retail tech startup.
For the Runaway Robina pop-up, our fundamental objective was to facilitate Runaway’s access to the prime retail destination of Robina Town Centre and connect the brand directly to their audience, enabling a unique brand experience.
We wanted to take advantage of the opportunity presented to us by QICGRE in the Robina location and create a shopping experience that connects the consumer back to the online shopping experience that would typically take place with Runaway. We don’t view the pop-up as merely a retail outlet, we see it more as an opportunity to introduce the brand to clients in an interactive way that goes far beyond the usual retail experience, bringing digital in physical.
We started with an in-store opening event to celebrate the launch of the pop-up with a DJ and photobooth for influencers and shoppers in the Robina area.
Following from that, to maximise the full potential of the pop-up, ADS collaborated with ShopExp’s Smart Mirrors, a futuristic concept that allows the shoppers to try on a garment virtually, without the need to go into a trail room.
“In my view, the inclusion of technology like ShopExp’s smart mirrors is inevitable, we are always looking for new ways to delight and engage our audience, and the ShopExp virtual try-on has provided just that,” Dominqiue Parisi said.
Runaway is one of the first to trial this new model of smart mirrors. Its unique and innovative technology has provided an exciting experience for shoppers. As the e-commerce sphere grows, we see more consumers shifting to the web. After all this, there remains a gap in the customer experience and the need for instant gratification. For sizing and fitting, there is a need to visualise, try before you buy and commit to a product and the ShopExp Mirror works towards eliminating these issues. So far, it has elevated the Runaway pop-up far above its counterparts.
The Runaway pop-up is in its eighth week in Robina and is proving successful with reports of increased awareness, product reviews and consumer in sites.
ShopExp is exhibiting at Inside Retail Live from Feb 26-27 at The Pullman, Albert Park in Melbourne. They will be showcasing their smart mirrors, which Runaway The Label is one of the first to adopt at their pop-up store in Robina Town Center, and demonstrating how it can eventually replace traditional display advertising screens.