Retail pop-ups keep popping up, and with them, rich in-store media opportunities. This week, TWIRM looks at how two treasured U.K. heritage brands are parlaying their pop-up venture into a partnership with sterling cross-promotional potential.
TWIRM, as always, is the This Week in Retail Media podcast, hosted by Kate Dickson, Head of Marketing and Communications, Retail Media, STRATACACHE. Kate is joined this week by special guest Darren Cremins, who leads in-store retail media networks across the UK and Ireland for the STRATACACHE team. Together they dig deep into three retail media stories that are causing a stir.
This week’s first stirring story (courtesy of Retail Gazette) is revered U.K. bookseller Waterstones’ expansion of its shop-within-a- shop pop-up concept within Brits’ beloved John Lewis department stores. Following a successful pilot, the bookstore is opening pop-ups in two new locations, bringing nearly 20,000 titles into the department store environment.
Kate sees the collaboration creating value for both brands’ customers, given that “a John Lewis shopper probably also is a Waterstone shopper.” The payoff for the retailers? Longer dwell times and richer data for targeted campaigns.
Darren sees the venture opening up new in-store cross-promotional possibilities. Host retailers ‘get added value,’ he notes, from Waterstones screens that could inspire a cookbook browsing customer to pop into John Lewis’ kitchenware department for a new garlic press.
Next, Kate and Darren examine AI’s mainstream adoption in UK retail, with 99% of decision makers now using AI in business operations. Finally, they delve into new research from Gum Gum revealing that over 40% of contextual ad placements fail when creative content doesn’t align with context.
Click here to listen to Kate and Darren’s dynamic discussion of pop-ups’ retail media potential.
