Pop-ups, Ephemerality, and Consumer Experience: The Centrality of Buzz

Pop-up stores are retail solutions that suddenly appear and then disappear—whether days, weeks, or months later. Multiple brands have created pop-ups across a range of product categories in major international markets. They are characterized by their ephemerality but also by the experience realized during the consumer’s visit to the store. Our thesis is that positive response to pop-ups depends on two major factors: (1) the benefits received by consumers who visit pop-ups and (2) the buzz that is generated, especially through social media, where consumers share their pop-up visit experiences. Although little research has investigated pop-ups, we build on the literature from different fields, especially consumer behavior, sociology, marketing, psychology, modeling of social media, and economics to develop theoretical propositions. The ephemerality of pop-ups and the emotional responses they provoke are critical explanations in our conceptualization of consumers’ response.