The Pop! Equation is what turns an ordinary store into a fun place to shop.  In other words, a shop that pops!  The Pop! Equation defines the features of stores that are ahead of the pack in enhancing the shoppers’ experience.  The distinctive features they have, called the Pop! Equation, include: 

High levels of customer involvement and interaction:  Shoppers don’t just browse the aisles.  Shops that pop encourage customers to touch, feel, taste, try on and participate in the store in more involving ways, like Charlotteville’s Feast! gourmet food store and Atchison, Kansas’ Nell Hill’s gift and home store.

Evokes shopper curiosity: Shops that pop excite consumer curiosity to explore and experience, from the shop windows and entrance through the different displays. Altanta’s Boxwoods Gardens and Gifts lures shoppers through a maze of wonderful displays that promise a new treasure around every corner.

Have a contagious, electric quality:  A shop that pops exudes energy and excitement.  They are so kinetic that even shoppers not all that into the category feel there is something in the store for them, like Apple Stores. 

Convergence between atmosphere, store design, merchandise:  A shop that pops presents a comprehensive vision that captures all the tangible and intangible elements.  Colonial Williamsburg Gift Shops and Stores are true to their colonial 18th century roots throughout.  Best Buy’s Magnolia Audio Video stores do the same thing in a 21st century way.

Values-driven concept:  A shop that pops is more than just a store selling stuff.  It is conceptually driven and reflects a visionary’s values.  It transcends being just a store into a new realm of experience, like Rapid City’s Prairie Edge where shoppers can touch, feel and participate in Native American culture through art, crafts, fashion, jewelry, books and home furnishings.

Accessible, non-exclusive and free from pretensions:  Shops that pop have all the preceding qualities, plus another essential feature — they are immediately accessible to everyone, free from pretensions of exclusivity or snobbishness.  Target stores are a favorite among recreational shoppers as they offer luxury to the masses.  The new lifestyle shopping centers, like Columbus, Ohio’s Easton Town Center, get rave reviews from shoppers because they are so much more accessible than the old-fashioned enclosed mall. 

Unity Marketing is publishing a new research study called Recreational Shopping Report, 2006. http://www.unitymarketingonline.com/news2/

In addition Danziger’s latest book, Shops That Pop!  The Future of Shopping, (to be published by Dearborn Trade Publishing fall 2006) will address the new experiential shopping paradigm.