A Kiwoom Heroes baseball team pop-up (Image courtesy of Hyundai Department Store)
SEOUL, May 13 (Korea Bizwire) – On the first floor of Lotte World Mall last month, queues snaked up to the third floor as crowds of students and foreign visitors flocked to a pop-up store event featuring the K-pop group Tomorrow X Together.
At a Kiwoom Heroes baseball team pop-up that ran until May 5 at Hyundai Department Store’s D-Cube City branch, inquiries about team jerseys poured in and they quickly sold out despite purchase limits.
Retail industry insiders have noted that department stores are increasingly hosting pop-up stores spanning diverse realms like K-pop idols, sports, webtoons, and animations.
Years ago, department store pop-ups primarily featured fashion brands testing consumer reaction before official store openings. Now, pop-ups celebrating “fandoms” have eclipsed those highlighting products from brands in fashion, luxury, or cosmetics.
Idol pop-ups, especially, generate fervent responses by lowering the barrier for teenagers and those in their 20s to visit department stores – a demographic retailers zealously court.
A pop-up store event featuring the K-pop group Tomorrow X Together. (Image courtesy of Hyundai Department Store)
Lotte Department Store alone has hosted four idol pop-ups this year at Lotte World Mall for acts like Tomorrow X Together, aespa, Cha Eun-woo, and NCT. Shinsegae Department Store’s Gangnam branch held two pop-ups for Seventeen last September and March, with another planned for this year.
Hyundai Department Store’s The Hyundai Seoul location scored 70 billion won in sales from consecutive March pop-ups for virtual idol groups like Isegye Idol, Plave, and StelLive.
Unconventional genres like trot music, hip-hop, and esports are also connecting with customers through pop-ups. In February, trot singer Song Ga-in had a pop-up at Hyundai’s Mokdong branch, while last August saw a hip-hop 50th anniversary festive pop-up at Shinsegae’s Centum City store.
In January 2023, the pro esports team T1 for the game “League of Legends” launched a pop-up at Lotte World Mall, followed by crowds exceeding 1,000 lining up overnight in July for another pop-up collaborating the RPG “Lost Ark” with Knotted World.
Shinsegae’s Gangnam branch had just two character pop-ups in 2021 before jumping to nine last year. (Image courtesy of Shinsegae Department Store)
“Over half the pop-up sales at Lotte World Mall come from customers in their teens to 30s,” said a Lotte Department Store official. “Especially for e-sports, gaming, and K-pop pop-ups, over 90% are teenagers and those in their 20s, demonstrating an exceptional ability to attract young customers.”
Amid the diversification of pop-up themes, a noticeable rise involves those featuring characters from animations and webtoons.
At The Hyundai Seoul, character pop-ups increased from around 10 in 2021 to over 20 in 2022 and 40 last year, with over 20 held already this year as of May 5.
Shinsegae’s Gangnam branch had just two character pop-ups in 2021 before jumping to nine last year. So far this year, it has already showcased five character pop-ups.
Based on last year’s figures, Lotte World Mall hosted 10 character pop-ups, including a Pokémon pop-up that also appeared at the Suwon and Busan Gwangbok branches this year.
Lotte World Mall hosted 10 character pop-ups, including a Pokémon pop-up that also appeared at the Suwon and Busan Gwangbok branches this year. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
“Character pop-up merchandise has lower price points, making it accessible even for young customers – fulfilling a role department store brands couldn’t,” explained a Shinsegae official. “The cute characters also positively boost the department store’s image.”
Department stores are expanding dedicated pop-up spaces evolving from mere product sales into “experience” and “exhibition” venues.
Shinsegae’s Gangnam branch pioneered the industry’s first dedicated pop-up space “The Stage” in 2018, taking up 180 square meters within the first floor beauty section. In 2021, it transformed a former bus terminal ticketing area into “Open Stage,” a 730 square meter experiential pop-up space.
“Pop-ups have transitioned from filling leftover spaces to serving as ‘anchor tenants’ drawing customers through immersive content experiences,” noted a Hyundai official.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
