When online shopping started to become more popular in the Philippines, there was concern among business owners that online stores may completely supplant tiangge shops, pop-ups, and seasonal stores. However, it eventually became clear that these temporary physical retail channels offered immense value to both online and offline businesses by offering opportunities to showcase products and services in ways that appeal to consumers who love interactive and tactile shopping experiences.
If you’re planning to put up a pop-up stall to capitalize on seasonal demand, it helps to think strategically. Here’s how your temporary retail spaces can become key ingredients in your business’s success:
Offer More Payment Options
It’s no longer enough for pop-ups to simply accept cash payments and offer a credit card swipe machine. With Filipino consumers having overwhelmingly adopted digital wallets and direct bank transfers, your credit card terminal needs to be able to accept these and other emerging payment forms.
Fortunately, the Maya Terminal and Maya Terminal Lite POS devices both offer the mobility and payment acceptance versatility your pop-up shops need. Both of these card terminal machine options can process bank and digital wallet payments through QR codes while still being able to accept modern tap-to-pay NFC and dipped EMV payment cards. The Maya Terminal even functions as a card swipe machine, allowing you to accept payments from the millions of Filipino customers who still use magnetic stripe cards.
Mark Your Calendars a Year in Advance
While the term “pop-up” implies that a pop-up store could be set up quickly, setting up a temporary stall at a good spot can take weeks if not months of preparation. Not only do you need to get in touch with the organizers at the right times but you also have to allocate enough stocks and get your marketing campaigns in order.
Fortunately, you can do some of the work in advance, especially for seasonal events. Giving yourself ample time to prepare will help you avoid unnecessary stress and help ensure you’re able to open more productive pop-ups throughout the year.
Find Good Locations to Set Up Shop
You won’t always be able to pick the exact location of your stall. But if you can, make sure to pick a spot that offers decent foot traffic and access to high-speed internet for your credit card machine. Fortunately, both of our Maya card terminal devices can connect to the internet through WiFi or mobile data, which means that you’ll always have a way of facilitating your customer’s payments.
Use Your Social Media Channels
Creating localized social media ads that target the areas immediately surrounding your pop-up can be a cost-effective way to draw in more customers. Importantly, you can also use these social media ads to simultaneously boost your online sales. With Maya Payment Links, you empower customers to pay with their preferred cashless methods over popular messaging apps, potentially turning your social media profiles into powerful alternative sales channels.
Try Brand and Influencer Tie-Ups
If handled well, partnerships between your business and other relevant brands can serve to increase your standing among potential customers. You and your partner will be able to expand available offers at your retail channels, split the cost burden of distribution, and benefit from exposure to each other’s core customers.
The key is to find the right brand to team up with. For instance, if you sell organic cosmetics, a tie-up with a brand that sells organic produce or handmade clothing might be a good bet, especially during peak seasons like the holidays.
Alternatively, you can get in touch with micro-influencers or celebrities who have relevance within your space. Since the rise of social media, these tie-ups have proven to be an effective way to drive a buzz around pop-up stalls, both online and offline.
If you choose the right partners, they should be able to introduce new customers to your business and create compelling endorsements that result in sales at your stall.
Invest in Strong Branding
Even if you don’t end up making a lot of sales through them, pop-up stores are an excellent way to drive new customers to your e-commerce shop or main physical store. Having consistent branding at your pop-up store will help strengthen the association between it and your main sales channels, maximizing the opportunities for future sales, regardless of the direct conversions your pop-ups make.
Take Your Seasonal Pop-Up to New Heights With the Maya Terminal
Running a pop-up store isn’t easy, so you need a cashless payment and credit card POS device that can keep up. With the Maya Terminal and the ultraportable Maya Terminal Lite, you have serious card machines that not only function as card terminal/card reader devices, but also process QR codes and e-wallets, ensuring your business’s success in an increasingly cashless environment. Create your Maya Business Manager account to order a Maya card payment machine that can go wherever you take your business.
Signing up for Maya Business Manager gives you access to the Maya 1-2-3 Grow bundle. Maya 1-2-3 Grow entitles you to a 1% MDR (merchant discount rate) discount on all QR Ph transactions for 3 months after signing up. That’s around PHP 14,600 in transaction fee savings for every PHP 1 million in QR Ph sales.
The Maya 1-2-3 Grow bundle also entitles you to a Maya Business Deposit account for your transaction settlements. With an amazing 2.5% per annum interest rate, you’ll grow your business’s earnings by PHP 25,000 each year on just a PHP 1 million deposit. You’ll also gain additional savings with Maya Business Deposit’s zero maintaining balance and free transfers via InstaPay and PesoNET.
Lastly, Maya 1-2-3 Grow lets you enjoy a Maya Flexi Loan offer of up to PHP 2 million in just 3 months—enough to ensure the success of your next pop-up stall. For a better loan offer, simply use Maya as your primary online payment service. Use Maya daily to improve your Maya Flexi Loan offer.
Sign up for Maya Business Manager today to accept cashless payments anywhere with a Maya Terminal and enjoy unique growth opportunities like Maya 1-2-3 Grow.
