Pop-up stores and exhibits aren’t new, but they are gaining in number and popularity as retailers, brands and event hosts look for cost-efficient ways to test concepts, and retail real estate owners and operators look for tenants, even if they are temporary.

Some, like Skims x Fendi on Rodeo Drive through the end of the month, supply both capsule product lines from Kim Kardashian West’s Culver City-based Skims and social media-friendly photo-op displays.
 
Others, like Reese’s Book Club from Playa Vista-based Hello Sunshine, the media company Reese Witherspoon sold for $900 million in August, are providing “activities” like using a Google Assistant recommender quiz to find books as well as offering coffee and cocktails inspired by the store’s curated book selection. Such efforts could give malls a new way to lure in shoppers besides Santa’s Workshop displays. The pop-up, running through Dec. 31 at Westfield Century City, is also adding a dash of good will by donating its profits to literacy initiatives.
 
And still others, like the Amazon Pop Up on Melrose Avenue in November, have been designed not only to let Amazon test the brick-and-mortar waters but also to offer a pseudo-nostalgic throwback to when toy stores ruled the holiday shopping season and circling items in a catalog was how kids drafted their lists for Santa. The ecommerce behemoth’s pop-ups specifically feature toys exclusive to the retailer and from its holiday gift book to provide a “try before you buy” experience.
 
Similarly, Santa Monica-based Hunker, a digital home and design publication, is bringing its home furnishings gift guide to life in an “experiential retail space” in Venice through Dec. 24.

The common thread — the promise of an “experience” — is the value-add these locations are hoping will be enough to entice shoppers to at least partially abandon ecommerce for an afternoon.
 
Gauging the success of these ventures could help retailers and landlords navigate their way through the next phase of the pandemic recovery. Shoppers are still weighing Covid-related risks of in-person shopping against a desire to shop local, whether to support small businesses or just avoid shipping delays caused by the supply chain backlog. And given these concerns, maybe retail centers are onto something in thinking that an hourlong line for a photo with Santa just isn’t going to drive enough foot traffic anymore. If it works during the holiday season, it might prove to be a lucrative template for retail campaigns in the coming year.