Pop-Up Fleas Growing In Popularity

Throughout the United States, retailers are utilizing creative methods to sell their merchandise, and one of the latest trends increasing in prominence is the temporary flea market, also known as a Pop-Up Flea. The Pop-Up method is appealing to property owners because it puts unoccupied space to good use and attracts traffic between renters, while giving vendors an opportunity to sell their wares in a new and exciting setting.

“A ‘Pop-Up’ is a show where you get together a group of vendors, find an empty storefront or other venue and pop in for the weekend, sell and then break down at the end of the weekend,’” said Melissa Sands, who launched the North Shore Flea in Illinois this June, to the Highland Park News. “It’s a traveling vintage market. Customers get to see a great batch of fresh merchandise and make their picks fast because at the end of the weekend, we are gone!”

The latest edition of the North Shore Flea Pop-Up was held December 2^nd through 4^th in a storefront in downtown Highwood, IL, with more pop-ups planned for the winter and spring. Each will feature a different type of merchandise, such as clothing or jewelry, in a new location, the Highland Park News notes.

Big Ideas in Big Cities

According to the Huffington Post, in an article on pop-up retail in Detroit, “as unique small businesses continue to sprout and help transform the economic landscape of the once-booming automotive capital of the nation, a largely untapped retail concept is quickly gaining steam…pop-up shops, temporary stores that ‘pop up’ one day then disappear shortly thereafter, may offer local entrepreneurs just the opportunity they’ve been looking for.” Local real estate company The Farbman Group has creatively filled their unused spaces with temporary stores. “Reigniting Retail,” held December 2nd and 3rd, was a pop-up showcase where local retailers sold products in the lobby of the Fisher Building in Detroit.

Pop-ups can sell inexpensive arts and crafts or high-quality, extravagant items. The Pop Up Flea, an annual event held this year from December 2^nd through 4^th at 159 Bleecker St. in Greenwich Village, had a line of 200 people waiting to get inside to purchase an assortment of men’s clothing for sale, according to the New York Observer. Giving visitors the opportunity to interact directly with the head of each brand, the booths featured American-made goods ranging from classic motorcycle jackets to $6,000 watches available for sale over the course of the weekend.