By Laura Medina
Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty Charity weekend pop-up shop was an hit.
Hailey Bieber’s Rhode Beauty Charity five days charity pop-up shop was an hit. Enough to give people five chances to get in and enjoy her products in real life, gaining and keeping fans.
They lasted long enough for multiple generations to enjoy and share. They’re growing their fan bases.
Kylie Jenner’s Cosmic 2.0 perfume one afternoon launch’s popularity was so intense, that the majority never got around to actually setting foot inside the pop-up. Much less, getting any treats, drinks, and goody gifts. Forget the perfume. Even more were disappointed they didn’t arrive way, way early, in the morning, to be the first 300 to get free full-sized Cosmic 2.0 perfume with promotional swag bags.
This launch pop-up only lasted for five hours on one afternoon, between 12 noon until 5pm. A perfect commercial mirage.
Among busy single parents and more established demographics, unfortunately they all arrive too late and were too further down the line, they’re bummed out for not getting in. A true Fear of Missing Out. The last 500 to 1000 were bummed out, they’ll experience what the younger, fitter fans ahead of them, actually normally all the time with pop-ups.
Other pop-ups insist on RSVPs for crowd control, despite eager fans showing up extremely early, three to two hours ahead of the opening hour.
Who What Wear’s holiday party did a great civilized organization and logistics in rsvping and confirming anyone and everyone to assigned times and dates. Everyone of all demographics were not disappointed and were treated equally well. Yes, Baby Boomer ladies love it. Gen-Xer and Millennial women honor and respect Who What Wear. It wasn’t a kerfuffle of disappointed chaos and physical exhausted frustration.
To actually physically experience a glam slammed pop-up is real physical endurance and stamina of standing, very patiently, up for a good two to three hours, just to get inside the immersive pop-up shop. Thank god, these experienced Gen-Zers give refreshments and treats to queuing fellow Zers and Gen-Alphas waiting and standing, very patiently in long, snaking, twisting lines. This is when patience is a virtue that’s greatly rewarded.
Since these pop-ups are fueled by popularity, only the fittest of the fit Gen-Xers and Millennials and the increasingly rare Baby Boomers can queuing patiently to be rewarded. Doing pop-ups is an endurance sport unto itself, absolute stamina.
There are hip and fashionable Baby Boomers whining, crying, and complaining about the first-come free for all queuing. Most avoid. Most quit due to physical exhaustion and failing health, leaving with a disappointed, bitter opinion and attitude towards to these brands, naively clueless about consideration and thoughtfulness regarding cross-generational audience who are interested and are unexpected fans, due to them actually buying and using the products yet are left unrewarded by Gen-Z produced pop-ups.
Even the staff hired to keep those extremely long lines under control by providing snacks, beverages, and umbrellas with jokes, say those pop-up lines get wild. During Rhode Beauty’s 5 days pop-up shop, they had to cut off at the 300th person, which was this scribe who arrived at 9am in the morning, because the pop-up shop was already running out of that day’s merchandise.
Those who can’t get in, have to return first thing the next morning.
Only the strong survive.
Experienced, established people like Who What Wear’s experienced logistics. They span many generations all at once. Now that’s a real pop-up party.
