Consumer Attitudes and Shopping Intentions toward Pop-up Fashion Stores

Abstract

Pop-up retail refers to the practice of opening a transitory,short-term, and often unannounced retail sales space. Such aspace may be set up in a movable container or in an existingstructure to offer consumers experiential shopping andface-to-face interaction with brand representatives. The retailindustry has rapidly embraced pop-up retail as a feasible distributionchannel for reaching consumers, launching new products,and testing niche markets. Pop-up stores may also be operatedas promotional events; the purpose of which is to increasebrand awareness rather than to make sales. Researchers have compared consumer behavior in the contextof such varied retail outlets as traditional brick-and-mortarstores and online stores. However, researchers have not heretoforeinvestigated consumer behavior associated with pop-upfashion stores, even though a wide range of retailers utilize thepop-up format. Since pop-up retail is a distinct type of retailoutlet, consumers’ attitudes and shopping intentions towardpop-up stores may differ from those they harbor toward traditionalbrick-and-mortar stores or online stores. The researchgoal of identifying variables that influence consumers’ attitudesand intentions relative to pop-up fashion stores is important todeveloping effective pop-up retail strategies that will, in turn,allow fashion brands to diversify their distribution channels andthus reach more consumers and better promote their brands. Six hypotheses were proposed based on the review of literature:fashion involvement positively affects fashion-orientedimpulse buying behavior (hypothesis 1a) and attitudes towardpop-up fashion stores (hypothesis 1b). Similarly, the need forhedonic shopping experiences positively effects impulse buyingbehavior (hypothesis 2a) and attitudes toward pop-up fashionstores (hypothesis 2b). Finally, fashion-oriented impulse buyingbehavior positively effects attitudes toward pop-up fashionstores (hypothesis 3), which in turn, effects shopping intentionsat the stores (hypothesis 4). The data was collected from 245 consumers at the airportsin two major cities in the West and Southwest regions of theUS. The sample was comprised of women (60.8 %) and men(39.2 %) with an average age of 34.1 years. The fit statisticsof the measurement model confirmed an excellent model fit:χ2=252.82 with 160 df at p-value<0.001; RMSEA of 0.047(90% CI for RMSEA=0.035-0.058); CFI of 0.99; and NFI of 0.97. Cronbach’s alpha for latent constructs ranged from 0.88to 0.98, and factor loadings were in the range of 0.71 to 0.96with p-values<0.01. The construct reliability ranged from 0.84to 0.97, and the average variance extracted ranged from 0.58to 0.90. The overall fit indices of the research model indicateda good model fit: χ2=288.67 with 163 df at p-value<0.001;RMSEA of 0.053 (90% CI for RMSEA=0.042-0.063); CFI of0.99; and NFI of 0.97. Fashion involvement had a positive effect on fashion-oriented impulse buying behavior, supporting Hypothesis 1a(γ=0.54, p<0.001). There was no significant positive effect offashion involvement on attitudes toward pop-up fashion stores,rejecting Hypothesis1b. The need for hedonic shopping experienceshad a significant positive effect on fashion-oriented impulsebuying behavior and attitude toward pop-up fashionstores, supporting both Hypotheses 2a (γ=0.31, p<0.001) and2b (γ=0.32, p 0.001). Fashion-oriented impulse buying had nosignificant positive effect on attitudes toward pop-up fashionstores, rejecting Hypothesis 3. Positive consumer attitudes towardpop-up fashion stores increased participants' shopping intentionswith regard to the stores, supporting hypothesis 4 (β=0.72, p<0.001). Operating pop-up fashion stores may be an effective retailstrategy for suiting the interests of hedonic consumers. Theidea of stores “popping-up” unexpectedly may be appealingenough to catch some consumers’ attention but attention alonemay not be sufficient motivation to get consumers to take thenext step, that is, shopping at a given store. Although pop-upstores are meant to be open for only a short period of time,retailers should attend to such considerations as the quality ofmerchandise, store layout and ambience, window displays, andcustomer service so as to create a desirable shopping environmentand experience. The non-significant association betweenfashion involvement and attitudes toward pop-up fashion storessuggests that consumers, even those who are highly interestedin fashion, may not be entirely aware of the benefits or eventhe concept of pop-up fashion stores. This study also revealed no significant positive effect offashion-oriented impulse buying on attitudes toward pop-upfashion stores. The lack of connection was probably due tolack of experience with pop up retailers. Therefore, retailerscould focus on increasing consumer awareness of pop-up retailas an innovative and exciting retail distribution channel by utilizingsocial networking services such as Facebook and Twitterto facilitate immediate word-of-mouth promotion to create buzz about pop-up stores. Global fashion brands may apply a pop-up retail strategy toretail internationalization and test the potential of entering markets before committing to the markets. Established global fashionbrands may use pop-up stores to identify ideal locationsfor future permanent stores in foreign markets and as promotionalevents to engage in interactive brand communicationwith the consumer. For emerging global fashion brands, pop-upstores could function as a means to understand the consumer. By interacting with the consumer in pop-up store settings,fashion brands can scrutinize consumer responses to brand positioningand product offerings and increase brand awareness. They could also increase their presence in the global marketthrough setting up stores in a pop-up shopping mall.