Will WeWork-Style Retail Replace Pop-Ups?

Time to dig out the old crystal ball to see what might be in store for shoppers in 2018. Will Amazon fundamentally change the way we buy lettuce and lemonade? Has Facebook shopping finally arrived? Is “live” commerce the next big thing? The sharing economy has birthed a WeWork-like retail model wherein merchants rent space to other merchants or brands. This emerging “pop share” model is essentially the evolution of the pop-up store, says Jay Norris, chief executive officer of Guesst and a co-founder of the “retail matchmaking” platform with chief retail strategist Michele Varian. The site connects existing retailers, or potential “hosts,” with complementary brands, or prospective “guests.” Norris predicts that these “collectives,” now at retailers such as Artists and Fleas and Canal Street Market, will eventually mature into “complementary guest shops for existing big-box retailers.” The licensing agreement defrays costs that have become prohibitive for both the host retailers and the renting brands. Read more at Forbes.