Dive Brief:

• Pop-up shops, those small, temporary retailers that proliferate at the holidays, are on track to make some $2 billion this season, according to research by pop-up social marketing company PopUp Republic. 

• Sales and profits vary widely, of course, because pop-ups may be open for as little as a few hours to weeks or months. The definition by PopUp Republic, however, is that they are temporary retailers.

• PopUp Republic found that consumers who buy from pop-ups are looking for seasonal products (61%), looking for unique products or services (39%), and are looking to shop locally (36%). 

Dive Insight:

PopUp Republic has taken on the difficult task of defining and quantifying pop-up retail, and its study also found that pop-ups, as the company defines them, are taking in some $50 billion annually. Other research, by the National Federation of Independent Business, also found that consumers are increasingly shopping at smaller merchants at the holidays.

In their Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey, NFIB and American Express, which sponsors Small Business Saturday, said sales at smaller, local businesses Nov. 29 were $14.3 billion, up from $14 billion last year. This phenomenon probably needs some more quantifying and a closer look, but pop-ups are working well for smaller retailers and web-based retailers whose customers want to get physical.