The COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions that include it has drastically affected the retail business in Singapore. 

It has pressured retailers, particularly these which might be closely centered on brick-and-mortar to ramp up their on-line presence or search various avenues to succeed in clients. Retailers who fail to pivot shortly sufficient threat dropping out.  

As a testomony to this, Singapore noticed numerous manufacturers leaving its shores early final yr and opting to maneuver on-line as a substitute.

Whereas the pandemic is detrimental to conventional retailers, it served as a catalyst for the rise in e-commerce, notably the growth of home-based companies. 

Nevertheless, e-commerce and brick-and-mortar shops not often exist in silos. 

In accordance with retail business skilled and ex-director of CBRE Chan Yee Yin, “clients nonetheless worth parts of a conventional retail expertise, such because the bodily contact and really feel of the product.”

How then, do fledgling e-commerce and home-based companies meet the wants of their clients? 

That is the place pop-up shops like Invade’s Makers’ Market come into play, which acts as a sustainable various for on-line retailers who need to promote their merchandise bodily as properly. 

Giving On-line Manufacturers A Human Contact

Sales space by August By. E / Picture Credit score: Invade Makers’ Market 

Pop-up shops are a viable possibility for each small and enormous companies that need another channel to attach with their clients and promote their wares. 

Yee Yin advised Vulcan Publish that pop-up retail has the power to make a longtime model “really feel extra trendy and expose it to totally different market segments.” This makes it an inviting possibility for bigger, established manufacturers that haven’t began dealing offline but. 

As for smaller companies, pop-up shops present the precious alternative to work together with clients with out having to pay hire for a everlasting retailer house. 

In an interview with Vulcan Publish, Jean Kuah, the founding father of Mochibuddies, shared that she first began promoting at pop-up shops in late 2018. Since then, she has been renting a pop-up retailer each month to promote her acrylic keychains and brooches. 

The complete-time graphic designer shared that working out of pop-up shops is an efficient method for her to work together with present and new clients. 

“I at all times discover it good to have the ability to meet my supporters. It’s additionally nice to have the ability to hear their suggestions (in individual) in order that I can enhance on my artwork much more,” the 27-year-old stated. 

Equally, Elaine, the founding father of August By E, routinely seeks out pop-up shops by Invade to convey her merchandise to extra clients past the web neighborhood.

She started frequenting pop-up shops in December 2019, just some months after she formally launched the enterprise in August that yr. 

Elaine shared that assembly her clients bodily has enabled her to raised perceive their preferences and wishes, permitting them to customize their jewelry as properly.

She added that she additionally skilled an outpouring curiosity for her merchandise after promoting them bodily, which motivated her to proceed sourcing for retail pop-up shops. 

In addition to connecting with present clients, pop-up shops are additionally a great way for enterprise homeowners to generate new gross sales leads. 

After each Makers’ Market occasion, Jean stated that she sees a “important development” in Mochibuddies’ social media following.  

Decrease Prices And Minimised Dangers

Sales space by Glamourousme83 / Picture Credit score: Invade Makers’ Market

In addition to being a platform to succeed in out to clients and broaden gross sales channels, pop-up shops additionally lowers the dangers and prices related to beginning a bodily retailer. 

It is not uncommon information that rental prices proceed to be one of many key components that result in the undoing of manufacturers with a brick-and-mortar presence. 

The Covid-19 pandemic spelled a record-high emptiness charge of eight.zero to 9.6 % as tenants withdrew from main malls.

Observers have commented that the tussle between landlords and tenants shouldn’t be particular to the Covid-19 financial system. The truth is, the asymmetrical energy dynamics have lengthy been within the making. 

Inherently, landlords have a tendency to carry extra energy over tenants as practices like Actual Property Funding Trusts (REITS) incentivise landlords to deal with rental extraction somewhat than tenant welfare.

Moreover, it was reported that retailers pay exorbitant sums below fashionable Gross Turnover Hire fashions, which extract a proportion of retailer gross sales.

Pop-up outlets present the chance to convey a refined service into a number of totally different markets with out the dangers of unsold stock or the associated fee outlay of everlasting retailer house.

“Since pop-ups create their very own areas and return these areas to their unique type when vacating, there’s little or no upkeep required, lowering the carrying prices for vacant actual property,” stated Yee Yin. 

In different phrases, pop-up outlets are an agile plug-and-play idea, and it may be arrange with minimal fuss and manpower. 

For brand new enterprise homeowners, pop-up shops is usually a lower-stakes springboard for refining all the things from product choices to retailer protocols. This permits retailers to check the viability of long-term tenancies and higher perceive what works properly and what doesn’t.

So as to add on, pop-up outlets are an particularly viable method for retailers when utilised the place conventional retailers do enterprise, resembling in procuring malls. 

The built-in infrastructure and advantages resembling parking services and better footfall assist to enhance the retailers’ possibilities of succeeding. 

The pop-up retailers shared that Makers’ Market are sometimes hosted at strategic areas that obtain excessive ranges of human site visitors. Such areas embrace *SCAPE, an iconic location for Singaporean millennials, Esplanade Mall, and Changi Airport.

Empower Your Enterprise With Makers’ Market

Picture Credit score: Invade Makers’ Market

Because the pandemic is steadily introduced below management with extra of the inhabitants being vaccinated, extra customers are wanting ahead to eating out and retail procuring. 

It may additionally be a great time for home-based companies to aim to strike out into the realm of bodily procuring.

Makers’ Market is a worthy consideration to start out up at. It’s a curated market idea that brings collectively crafts and design items from across the area, specializing in supporting startups, manufacturers and designers.  

Furthermore, retailers resembling Jean and Elaine who peddle their wares at numerous pop-up occasions of Makers’ Market have reported a big development in gross sales. 

Moreover, the Makers’ Market additionally offers advertising and marketing assist for retailers.

In accordance with Averia Chung, founding father of Glamourousme83, the Makers’ Market staff typically takes footage of her merchandise and shares them on their social media pages pre- and post- occasion. 

This advertising and marketing assist has helped her to efficiently attain out to extra clients at numerous occasions and areas. 

Jean additionally emphasised that the workers at Makers’ Market readily absorb suggestions from retailers, which makes your entire onboarding course of pleasurable and seamless.

As manufacturers and retailers try to wrap their heads round how shopper habits is altering because of the pandemic, promoting at pop-up shops can act as a technique to garner suggestions and construct a buyer base. 

To begin promoting at Makers’ Market, you possibly can flick thru the accessible areas and make a reserving right here. 

This text was written in collaboration with Invade Makers’ Market.

Featured Picture Credit score: Invade Makers’ Market