Pop-up businesses generate $50 billion in annual sales

Pop-ups – those temporary places of business such as pop-up shops, yard sales, farmers markets and supper clubs that sell products and food – are literally popping up everywhere. So, just how large is this retail market?

 

Would you believe a whopping $50 billion in annual sales?

 

That’s the conclusion reached by PopUp Republic, a social media marketing company focused exclusively on pop-ups, after it interpreted the best numbers available for the variety of pop-up sectors. After defining the key categories of pop-ups, the firm used approximate sales numbers provided by the U.S. government, trade associations or third-party organizations for those segments to arrive at the multi-billion dollar figure.

 

“There never has been a study that clearly defines what constitutes a pop-up and then uses that definition to quantify just how big the market is,” said Jeremy Baras, president of PopUp Republic. “We have read estimates that have sized the U.S. pop-up market anywhere from $8 billion to $80 billion which, to say the least, is rather imprecise. Plus, those numbers are not accurate, as they either include or exclude commercial sectors that are or aren’t relevant.

 

“Based on our experience listing more than 10,000 pop-ups via our online directory and millions of impressions monthly from our social media channels, we proceeded to define the relevant categories and then researched available sales estimates.”

           

The most common feature that pop-ups share is they are temporary and can last an hour, a day, a week or months, but by definition, have a beginning and an end. As a second qualification, added Baras, pop-ups are exclusive, impromptu and/or feature handmade, locally sourced products, an antidote to the typical homogenous, big brand, impersonal online and retail mall shopping experience.     

For the purpose of the research, PopUp Republic identified these categories:

 

Identifying these categories was critical, Baras said, as many Americans are unclear as to what constitutes pop-ups. In a new poll commissioned by PopUp Republic, 70 percent of more than 1,000 U.S. adults surveyed said they have not visited or shopped at a pop-up.

 

“Yet, if you’ve ever been to a yard sale, farmers market or Christmas tree lot, you have shopped at a pop-up,” said Baras. “Pop-ups are more pervasive than Americans think.

 

“Therefore, although there may be others, we determined these categories capture the lion’s share of pop-ups in the United States and proceeded to compile these projected sales figures:”

 

            The USDA estimated the size of the farmer-to-public market at $7 billion in 2012. Based on considerable growth since then, the report projected this market at $8 billion in 2014.

 

            According to the National Restaurant Association, food truck sales were about $650 million in 2012. “After factoring in an Intuit estimate that food truck sales will hit $2.7 billion by 2017, we concluded the segment is at the $1 billion level in 2014,” Baras said.

 

“As a reference point, the total annual U.S. retail market is approximately $4.5 trillion and and the size of the online retail market is $300 billion,” Baras said. “Thus, the $50 billion pop-up market is just a slice, albeit a very significant slice, of the pie.

           

“These numbers help explain why offline ‘brick and mortar’ is stagnating and why we see such widespread expansion of pop-ups,” said Baras. “It truly reflects a steadily growing trend of consumer preferences for local, handmade, exclusive product lines and, in many cases, people favoring distinctive experiences over homogeneous, predictable shopping options.”

 

When asked to name the top three reasons to shop or visit a pop-up store, the new PopUp Republic poll of U.S. adults revealed finding seasonal products topped the list, cited by 61 percent of respondents. Ranked next were finding new or unique services/products (39 percent), to shop locally (36 percent), for great prices (34 percent), for convenience (33 percent) and to have a fun experience (30 percent).