The American spirit is nothing if not resilient. In a bid to make life smoother and restore some semblance of normalcy, as the public and private sectors battle the health and economic effects of COVID-19, physical retail and restaurant alternatives are proliferating across the U.S. These new retail and restaurant formats offer a smart solution, allowing more consumers to quickly get the items they need for themselves and their families while continuing to follow stay-at-home advisories.
What are pop-up stores?
As their description more or less implies, a pop-up shop serves as a short-term retail location that business owners use to sell more of their products and/or services. Over the past decade, online retailers have cornered the pop-up market, and in so doing, have grown their brands by advertising to a broader array of customers via word of mouth and social media campaigning. However, in more recent years, an increasing number of brick-and-mortar stores are taking advantage of this sales method as well to improve customer relationships and grow their presence in an ultra-competitive industry that is in a constant state of flux. Mobile point-of-sale systems using high-speed internet access have fueled the proliferation of pop-up shops.
As numerous media outlets have reported, pop-ups have become particularly popular during the COVID-19 crisis. For example, the international convenience store chain 7-Eleven recently opened its very first pop-up store at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas. Hospital and healthcare employees tend to work long hours normally, but their busy schedules have ramped up in several cities severely impacted by COVID-19, which thus far have mainly been urban areas with high-density populations. Pop-up stores have provided doctors, nurses, and hospital staff a way to quickly and conveniently get the items they need while they’re at work rather than driving to a brick-and-mortar grocery store, many of which have reduced their hours of operation to devote more time to stocking.
Shop and purchase simplicity
In addition to the grab-and-go convenience that pop-up stores offer from a sheer merchandise perspective, mobile POS and internet networks enable customers to purchase goods and services using simplified and effective technology as well, be it via credit cards, mobile wallets, debit cards or their handheld devices.
The POS system set up at Children’s Medical Center by 7-Eleven is especially convenient because hospital staff can simply swipe their badges to pay during checkout.
Joe DePinto, president and CEO of the nearly 90-year-old convenience store conglomerate, said in a press release that he couldn’t be happier to make life just a little bit easier for the people who are saving lives each and every day.
“The doctors, nurses and care teams at Children’s Health are true heroes,” DePinto explained. “When Children’s Health asked us to provide their team members convenient access to essentials during this unprecedented time, our team rose to meet the challenge, opening this first-of-its-kind store in less than two weeks. We are so proud to serve those on the front line of this pandemic.”
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