The future of retail will soon include freestanding high-tech pop-up pods that can be reproduced like rabbits and deployed all over the globe.
A 3,000-square-foot showcase of these pods, Dubbed ShopWithMe, was on display in Chicago and is headed our way in January. Able to serve more than one brand or concept at a time, its goal is to engage and captivate customers with interactive technology while making purchases a breeze.
ShopWithMe is the brainchild of Jonathan Jenkins, founder and CEO of WithMe. He created a “smart store” that can be set up quickly and stowed just as effortlessly. Jenkins says brands can easily access the ready-to-go store.
The company hopes to have these smart pods around the world so can, within days, pop from zero to 50 stores — or more — for a brand blitz and then shrink back to none a few weeks later. “We change the files and not the fixtures,” explains WithMe co-founder Danielle Jenkins.
The pod itself consists of four self-contained store units that can host as many as 10 different brands. They are connected by a 43-foot-long bridge that suspends the architectural systems for easy assembly, disassembly and transport.
It can be set up “anywhere on the planet in a matter of days,” says Giorgio Borruso, principal of Giorgio Borruso Design, who is the design architect. The pieces are dropped off by a truck at the site and then set up with a forklift
The fabric roof can handle snow, while an HVAC system handles both heating and cooling.
As for pricing, the company is currently working on multiple rental models that range from time-based to a percentage of sales.
To improve their experience, customers can download the ShopWithMe app. Once inside, the app interacts with products that are embedded with RFIDs. There are interactive LED displays, and somewhat creepier, Harry Potter-like magical shelves that slide out as the shopper walks around, presenting goods that jive with ones they’ve already chosen.
A translucent tabletop display will also suggest pairings and offer personalization. Changing rooms are equipped with smart mirrors, so customers can check out right from there. Better yet, those in the changing room can ask for a different size or shape without the embarrassing half-dressed head-poke while praying a salesperson is within sight or earshot. If the right size isn’t in the store, the customer can access the brand’s catalog through interactive screens and purchase it right there for delivery later.
William Reid, WithMe’s vice president of payment, and a former director of innovation at Paypal, says his favorite part of the setup is the mobile app, which also provides an instant checkout as the customer walks out the door. “No more checkout lines!” he says.
Last year, Zappos deployed a 25,000-square-foot pod for an event in Las Vegas before ShopWithMe perfected the design. Recently, TOMS shoes and eco-friendly fashion brand Raven + Lily integrated their products into a pod on the plaza of 401 N. Michigan Ave. in Chicago. Retail executives were invited to explore the possibilities.
On Black Friday, ShopWithMe set up in San Francisco for a run with TOMS, Zanerobe, RAINS, Barney Cools, Spiewak, B.D. Baggies and Baracuta.
Harley Davidson Black Label has rented the system for a pop-up at the Westfield Valley Fair Mall in San Jose, Calif. starting Dec. 8 that will run through Jan. 3.
Dallas, Los Angeles, Houston and Miami will follow, with pop-up stores to start shipping globally next year. As it is classified as a “temporary event structure” so far, every city has been “very accommodating.”
New York’s turn is next for the National Retail Federation’s BIG Show that takes place Jan. 17-20, 2016 when the pop-up will be set up near the Javits Center. The company says a variety of brands are interested in showcasing here and the verdict on which ones will be made closer to the event. “That is what is so great about the store,” says a spokeswoman. “We can literally turn a brand on in less than 10 days. It is completely flexible and turnkey.”
