Here today, gone tomorrow: The role of store ephemerality in consumer spending in experiential stores
(A2019-8486)

AUTHORS

Laura Henkel, University of Goettingen; Steffen Jahn, University of Goettingen; Waldemar Toporowski, University of Goettingen

KEYWORDS

pop-up store; ephemerality; store purchase

ABSTRACT

As a response to customers’ desire for ephemeral and experiential consumption, pop-up stores have emerged as a new experiential marketing format. Previous research has shown that customers’ retail experience improves their brand experience in experiential stores and further stimulates store purchases. The results of our experiment confirm these findings for the case of recreational shoppers, who enjoy shopping and want to be entertained. Furthermore, we know that limited availability may increase consumers’ eagerness for products. As pop-ups differ from other experiential stores in their ephemerality, we find that customers exhibit greater desire for their goods. In contrast to flagship store literature and brands’ typical preferences for listing exclusive products in pop-ups, we demonstrate that only the relation between brand experience and the purchase of standard products is affected by a store’s ephemerality.