This past March, we held three consecutive weekends of pop-up shops at Construction Junction. After 150 transactions and even more customer interactions, we wanted to share our top product and marketing insights.
Find Your Customer Base
Spoons’ focus on kitchenware resale complements the architectural salvage offerings of Construction Junction. We both help customers who are often updating their kitchens, moving homes, or looking for unique yet functional hardware and fixtures. Our customers tend to value not only the history behind used materials, but also their utility, affordability, and sustainability. The success of these pop-ups has reinforced our theory that Spoons is a better fit for sales events that focus on food & beverage and housewares instead of exclusively vintage goods.
Old-School Posters and Flyers Work
Being located in the city of Pittsburgh means that we have a lot of pedestrian traffic. So when I asked customers how they heard about the pop-up event, it wasn’t surprising to hear that in-store signage and neighborhood flyers were some of the top responses. These answers were especially appreciated after spending hours taping posters around my East End neighborhoods and the Construction Junction Warehouse. I focused on postering at intersections near bus stops, bike trails, and popular pedestrian walkways in a one-mile vicinity of Construction Junction.
I used eye-catching fluorescent yellow paper from Creative Reuse and a simple poster design to print my own posters at home, making it easy to produce my own zero-waste marketing materials on a budget. Including a QR code to the Spoons website made it easy for potential customers to visit our website right away. These posters also last for weeks or even months, and several customers mentioned being led to our website’s event calendar from old posters for previous pop-ups.
Create a Shop Environment - Fast
Construction Junction generously allowed me to use their community room and spread products across shelves and conference tables.
We typically had only a few hours to rearrange the space, move products in, and set up a temporary sales floor. We tried to make the space feel functional and organized even without having access to a back room for stocking excess inventory and empty bins.
It was especially challenging to come up with in-store signage that visually stood out. I found that customers would gloss over even poster-sized text, displayed right at the pop-up entrance, because they were immediately taken by the products on display. After running out of business cards at the register station, I was able to use the room’s chalkboard wall to write out the pop-up discounts and shop website. But running these pop-ups made it clear that we need to find signage and display solutions that prioritize portability, visibility, and durability.
Offer a Full Range of Products
We tried to make the products easy to navigate by grouping them according to their functionality and price point. We were able to offer products that we typically don’t sell online due being either too small or large to ship affordably, such as heavy appliances or utensils under $5.
It was a lot of work to cart in three car-loads of inventory for each pop-up, but it was worth displaying just how much Spoons has to offer and keep tables looking full. By selling in-person, we got to directly ask people if they were looking for specific kitchen items. Because we stored excess inventory underneath the product tables, we could sometimes pull those requested items that weren’t on display. This boosted sales and informed our product curation.
Invite Your Friends
We were lucky to host two guest vendors on different weekends: NotaPot.Planters, who creates plant pots out of upcycled ceramics and glassware, and Can We Get It Poppin?, who sells gourmet popcorn. In a show of small business solidarity, we cross-promoted each other’s products to our customers to collectively increase our sales. It was also a natural fit to partner with vendors that focus on reuse and food.
Join Us
We’re back at Construction Junction every Sunday this April, excluding Easter. Come shop with us there or at our other pop-ups around Pittsburgh. Check out our events calendar and subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with the latest happenings.
Circular Economy Fair
We’re especially excited about the Circular Economy Fair on April 19 11am-3pm at Construction Junction. You can shop with vendors that sell products and services focused on reuse, and meet nonprofit organizations advancing zero-waste initiatives in our city.
We’re still looking for 1-2 more vendors, so fill out the application if you’re interested!
Host a Pop-Up
Are you a business in the food & beverage or housewares industries? Contact Us if you're interested in bringing a Spoons Kitchen Exchange pop-up to your market!