How the high street is still important for online fashion brands

Shein, the online fashion retailer, has today opened a pop-up store  in Birmingham. The store has will be open for only a few days to help make a stronger connection between the brand and its customer base. it is challenging for on-line brands to create loyalty through traditional on-line purchasing experiences. Brands are looking for ways to strengthen the loyalty by adding to that simple on-line purchase experience. This is especially important when financial times are hard and consumers are feeling the pinch. They may not be able to shop with all of their usual retailers and may only shop with ones they feel a loyalty to.

Shein have two floors of clothes in pop-up stores which is obviously the main attraction but each of the items has a QR code on it which can be scanned to allow customers to order the right size on-line if it is not available in the store. They are also using the opportunity to educate customers about the brand. They have displays which include facts about the gender split of the work force and senior management team to give more of a 3-D feel to the brand. 

To complete the experience there are complementary treatments and give-aways to reward customers for making the effort to visit the pop-up store. 

Pop-up stores like this enable brands with an otherwise online only presence to have special events to bond with consumers without making a major commitment to a retail premises. They are likely to become an increasing trend on the high street and make good use of units in main shopping areas that may otherwise be vacant. They also help to bring something new into shopping centres that bring in more traffic overall. It seems to be a win-win for consumers and brands alike.