Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1497119
H ave you recently been to a farmers market or a festival of some kind? No matter the size or the location, there will be people there selling artisanal products. is isn't flea market stuff, these vendors hand make their potholders, wine jelly and jewelry. Obviously, it's done for the money, but in choosing the personal interaction of a Saturday morning street market over the vastly bigger world of online sales these small batch makers enjoy a competitive advantage. When people who make things get to interact and converse with people who are looking at and handling their goods, there is a feedback loop between the original design intent and the resulting observation. e communication is based primarily on what the customer sees in the products, presentation, and story. Market and festival vendors experience this with every potential customer. e conversations include good suggestions and bad ones; however, the most important part is the vendors are exposed to customer's objections. e old lady selling potholders uses this valuable one-on-one feedback to dial in her wares. She manipulates color, pattern and size based on what her customers, who are also into potholders, express when they look at her offerings. Putting time and effort into redeveloping her product, she hopes to overcome those objections and, in the future, sell a few more pieces. Layers like the internet or retail buyers standing between her and her customers would delay, dilute, or eliminate that feedback. Outdoor brands venturing into the world of pop-up shops are aer the same information. e miniature stores are a testing ground, a controlled environment where the lines between marketing and retail blur. e smaller shop size and walk-by traffic limits the destination r e t a i l f e e l i n g a n d encourages personal interactions with the average Joe and Jane. If they listen carefully, the brand will learn more about how people perceive their company in a few short weeks than they normally would through more traditional channels over the course of a season. With a relatively small investment, the brand can receive honest and direct feedback from a community about its products, presentation, and overall persona. I'm not saying big outdoor companies should send their designers and creative teams out to staff the pop-up shops. I don't think they could withstand the criticism regarding unusual zipper choices or obscure color combinations; that, of course, would be the sales team's job. However, brands do need to capture the information gleaned from the one-on-one interactions with casual customers. What words are heard the most? What products do customers touch first? What are the key objections that are raised? is style of small scale, temporary retail is a unique opportunity for outdoor brands to expand beyond their historical fan base. Incorporating what is learned from private conversations with a wider audience into a company's design process might lead to products that speak to more people. at is the point of the outdoor industry, isn't it, creating a bigger community that is invested in the conservation and stewardship of the natural world? n Disclaimer: Mr. Gray's design intent always includes obscure colors. e publisher may not agree with his opinions or preferred palette. OUT OF CONTEXT By Kurt Gray Small scale, temporary retail is a unique opportunity. POP-UP RETAIL 50 • Footwear Insight ~ Spring 2023 footwearinsight.com