Pop Up Retail Shops Using Shipping Containers

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Pop up retail shops using shipping containers have been in vogue for the last 10 years or so – and shipping containers are ideal for these. Whether as PR stands for marketing or for a local trader to test their business idea, here at Gateway Container Sales we can help you convert a shipping container into a unit to meet your needs.

A brief history of shipping container pop-ups

US marketer Patrick Courrielche is credited with using the first pop-up shipping container store in Los Angeles in 1997. He was branded a ‘hipster’ for his idea but the concept soon caught on.

First smaller businesses in the know saw the idea as a means of getting a mobile store into a position and then larger companies, such as PUMA, Tesla and British Airways saw the possibilities.

These vary in size from a single unit being dropped into a prime retail location, to full blown malls and markets that can be dropped in place in vacant lots while permanent developments are planned for the site.

Advantages of a shipping container pop-up store

As we have shown over the years on the Gateway Gazette, shipping containers are easily converted into retail and residential units. They are just secure boxes and there’s a million things you can do with them as a result!

The pop-up can be converted and branded off-site just to your specifications. Glass walls and a sleek internal decor can be added – or just a kitchen with a fridge if that is what you need. Tesla even carry their cars in them as a mini-car showroom. Once the unit has been converted to your specifications off-site it can be carried on a container truck to the site and dropped into position.

Image source: Green Car Reports

Once on site, shipping container pop-ups can cause a bit of a stir with local media often coming to report on the brief addition to their shopping street. This improves footfall as the curious come to explore what is on offer.

At the end of the retail day the containers can be locked up securely so no one runs off with your precious goods – be it a $150,000 car or your stove and fridge!

At the end of the campaign as a whole the container can be kept by you for future events or sold back to us for us to rebrand for another client in the future.

Aiming the campaign right

Big businesses won’t make a huge profit even with queues of interested customers visiting the container – though a startup food stall might do very well in terms of relative profits.

However, marketing differs from sales. A cool, well thought unit that attracts influencers and leaders of the social pack to the shipping container pop-up can generate real sales during and after the campaign that last far longer than the container actually sitting on the high street. Even though no one might buy your car on the spot, you could well get 1000 people into the sales funnel with the attrition rates that you expect according to the value of the product.

For smaller businesses, you may wish to use such a campaign in a different part of town. Luxury burgers could do well in a central business district while a pop-up boutique would do well in a retail district, for example.

Here in Brisbane one such campaign did very well in 2014. A number of shipping container pop-up stores were dropped around the city selling things like coffee and snacks to passers-by. One we liked (and converted!) was a drive-through coffee shop.

Image source: Gateway

Can Gateway Container Sales help you?

Perhaps you have a business idea burning in your brain and have a few bucks to explore the possibility with a pop-up, or you could be a marketing professional with a big-dollar budget to launch a campaign. You could sit somewhere between these two too!

While we do have hundreds of shipping containers in our yard here in Brisbane for sale and hire, we also specialise in converting shipping containers for architectural use. We understand how to both reinforce the holes cut in the boxes and get the branding right for your campaign.

So why not give us a call today to discuss your needs?

Featured image courtesy of: Witty Sparks