Temporary eCommerce Stores for the 2020 Holiday Season | TTG

Show Off Your Best Products for Fall with a Virtual “Pop-Up” Store

Originally Posted in September 2020. Updated in October 2021.

Key Takeaways:

Nearly all holiday shoppers will be buying or shopping online in 2021.

Consumers expect to have access to online and in-store shopping options.

Pop-up shops allow you to highlight specific products.

Creating a pop-up shop for the holidays can help you test drive e-commerce before you launch a full-scale website revamp.

It’s no news that the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) caused an accelerated shift to e-commerce for small businesses over the last two years. Now, with fall and the holiday season in our view, stores may be open, but the online shopping trend is in no danger of being usurped by in-person shopping. In fact, most shoppers will be spending time and money looking for gifts online this year. 

This massive migration to online shopping isn’t too surprising. A study performed by  GlobalWebIndex  in April of 2020 revealed that 31% of US internet users ages 16 to 64 planned to shop online more frequently after the pandemic ended, and 30% expected to visit stores less frequently. With the lingering dangers of COVID-19, many shoppers followed through on their plans to adopt an online approach to holiday gift hunting. 

At this point, it’s official: e-commerce is the new normal. Tech-driven consumers are seeking convenient, contactless shopping experiences this holiday season, and are expecting their favorite brands to offer online shopping opportunities. Retailers unwilling to at least make the partial pivot to digital should prepare to fall by the wayside. As brick-and-mortar businesses open to the idea of selling their products online, they are also opening themselves up to receive support from consumers.

Nearly all (99%) of consumers will do at least a portion of their holiday shopping online this year. 50% will do most of their holiday shopping online, and 13% will do all of it online.

– Power Reviews

So, what does this mean for your small businesses? How can you tailor your commerce to your customers in a way that makes everyone happy?

Enter: The Digital Pop-Up Store

A while back, we wrote a blog post about digital pop-up shops being excellent tools for small business owners. Not only do digital pop-up shops engage consumers in meaningful, interactive ways, they also link a brand with an immersive experience that leverages technology to make products stand out.

For those considering a digital pop-up shop, there’s no time like the present to get started. Here’s why…

  • Cushion Your Business: Should a second wave of COVID-19 be in the cards for the fall, a major uptick in online shopping would be inevitable. Setting up a virtual storefront to sell products online should this be the case is a preemptive measure any business owners would be wise to take— especially for the holidays.
  • Themed “Shops” for Featured Collections, Sales & Clearance Events: These online storefronts are easily-themed shops with an ability to capitalize on the spirit of the upcoming holiday season. What’s more, they can be used to effectively draw attention to a new collection or an end-of-season clearance.
  • Get a Taste of E-Commerce: Digital Pop-Up Shops are perfect for business owners who aren’t quite ready to make a serious commitment to digital selling. There’s no long-term commitment involved, so you can test the waters and find out if eCommerce is for you.
  • Connect and Sell on Instagram & Facebook: These virtual stores are great to link to on social to promote and sell specific products for the audiences you’re targeting on each platform.
  • Uncapped Sales: Speaking of sales, a Digital Pop-Up Shop allows you to sell online without limitations, depending on which platform you build on. Considering that some eCommerce site providers put a cap on sales, this is important.
  • Virtually & Physically Safe: SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption ensures all online payments are safe and secure, so you can enjoy peace of mind knowing you and your customers are protected from fraud. Similarly, your staff and consumers gain additional peace of mind by knowing your physical store won’t be flooded with customers looking to buy gifts for the holidays.
  • Crisp, Clean Design: Clean, easy to navigate designs put your brand in the spotlight and make your products shine.
  • Mobile-Friendly: Digital Pop-Ups are optimized for seamless mobile user experience.

Even as consumers go back to stores, with 5 percent growth year over year in August, e-commerce sales also continued to experience strong growth, rising by about 30 percent year over year. This has meant elevated online penetration of about 30 percent higher than pre-COVID-19. Omnichannel shopping is ascendant, with about 60 to 70 percent of consumers across categories shopping/researching both in store and online and social media influencing up to 40 percent of consumers in categories like jewelry, accessories, and fitness.

McKinsey & Company

Ready to Get Started with Your Pop-Up?

E-commerce is only a few clicks away. Check out these training sessions to get a taste of what integrating online shopping would look like for your business, and reach out to us to test drive e-commerce with a custom pop-up shop today!

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