First Pop Up Shop With Girl Code Shopping Social

I was given the opportunity to do my very first pop up show with Girl Code Shopping Social! Of course, I was so excited to do a pop up because I was able to bring my business and brand to life. A pop-up shop is a temporary storefront space usually run by an online merchant. This is a great way for online business owners to build relationships with customers, and network with other local businesses.

To get started, I did some research on Pinterest and on Tik Tok for inspiration. Although, there weren’t a lot of resources. So I hope that I can contribute and share with everyone my experience and what I learned. Plus I will share how to set up your very first pop up show for success! If you want to learn more about the Girl Code Shopping Social, my experience, and how I created my set up, please continue reading!

GIRL CODE SHOPPING SOCIAL

The Girl Code Shopping Social held their first event at McQueen’s Social Lounge in Downtown Orlando, Florida. This was going to be an opportunity to give new and established small businesses a chance to network. Plus give shoppers a chance to find new brands to fall in love with. Our event was from 6pm-9pm and the best way to describe it was that it was short, sweet and successful!

My Experience + What I learned

Since our pop up shop was only a short amount of time, I knew I needed a game plan for setting up my booth. To read more details about my set up and links to the products I use to build my station, read here! I created a digital outline of where I was going to place everything. In addition, I needed to be able to set up and break everything down within 5 minutes. I was able to get to the venue an hour before the doors opened and set up quickly. My station included shelving where the lashes were displayed plus where available for purchase. Plus I had a mirror and an application station for those that wanted to wear their lashes. I also offered custom fittings, where I took the customer’s lashes that they purchased, and cut them to size.

Although, the event was only 3 hours, I was able to get do great sales for our first shop! To capture the moment, I hired a local photographer, www.instagram.com/sprphotography. Some things that I need to work for the next pop up shop is to definitely have a reliable self check out station. That would really help customers have an easier shopping experience. In addition, I should’ve had more photos and video displays to showcase the styles for the customers. Also, I ran out of packaging and shopping bags! So the next event, I’ll have to be more prepared!

Here are some quick tips on “How to Have a Successful Pop Up Shop!”

Have shopping bags with your brand name
Create packaging that will make your brand name and brand image recognizable and memorable to your customers.
Have a reliable POS system for easy payments
Make the shopping experience stress free and convenient for your customers by offering multiple payment channels. Since my small business is fairly new, I was able to use the Shopify POS app for IOS to enter in credit card/debit card numbers manually plus track inventory.
Create QR Codes with your Social Media and website page
I was able to find a free QR code generator after doing a quick google search. I took the QR into my canva.com account and created a cute and easy way for customers to find my Facebook, Instagram and website. Once created, I printed and framed!
Offer exclusive goods, services, samples or business cards with a discount code
An exclusive service that I offered is custom fittings for my customers plus lash application. If there is a service you can offer, you could do this for free, or create an up charge.
Promote your event on Social Media
This should be collaborative with your event host, and other vendors.
Invite Influencers or Models to your event
I invited as many of my friends and some local influencers and to come out to the event and offer them gifts for being apart of the event. It creates hype and foot traffic, plus models can showcase your outfits, or products for customers that are walking by.

Overall, the pop up event with Girl Code Shopping Social was a success, and we had a great turn out! Check out the photos below captured by @sprphotography of the event!