What Academic Research Tells Us About Consumer Behavior in Pop-Up Stores

The academic literature on pop-up retail has grown substantially over the past decade. Drawing on my own research and the broader field, I want to share some of the most significant findings about how consumers actually behave in ephemeral retail environments — findings that often challenge conventional retail wisdom.

The Scarcity Effect

One of the most robust findings in ephemeral retail research is what I call the scarcity effect. Consumers consistently report higher purchase intention, greater willingness to pay, and stronger emotional engagement in environments they know to be temporary.

This is not simply about FOMO — fear of missing out — though that plays a role. It is about the psychological framing of the experience as precious, unrepeatable, and therefore worth full attention.

Social Proof Amplification

Pop-up stores generate social proof at a rate that permanent retail environments rarely achieve. The combination of novelty, scarcity, and community creates conditions where consumers actively seek to share their experience — not just on social media, but in conversation.

This social proof has a different quality from conventional word-of-mouth. It carries the authority of the insider, the person who was there.

The Discovery Mindset

Research consistently shows that consumers enter pop-up environments in what I term a discovery mindset — more open to novelty, more willing to engage with unfamiliar products, and more receptive to brand communication than in permanent retail contexts.

This discovery mindset is enormously valuable for brands, but it must be earned. Consumers who feel that a pop-up is simply a conventional store in temporary clothing quickly revert to their standard retail behaviors.

Implications for Brand Strategy

These findings have clear implications for brand strategy:

Design for the discovery mindset — create environments that reward curiosity and exploration. Avoid the temptation to replicate the permanent store in a temporary format.

Leverage the scarcity effect deliberately — communicate temporality clearly and early. The knowledge that this experience will end is a feature, not a limitation.

Build social proof architecture — design moments, objects, and experiences that are inherently shareable. Not as a marketing afterthought, but as a core design principle.

The academic research is clear: ephemeral retail formats, when designed with genuine understanding of consumer psychology, consistently outperform permanent formats on engagement, brand perception, and purchase conversion.