Co-creating value in the independent pop-up retail ecosystem

Purpose This paper aims to explore through an ecosystem lens how value can be co-created in independent pop-up retail, thus enhancing the community-based retail offer. It considers value co-creation between pop-up owners, supply side stakeholders and customers operating in a challenging retail environment, offering useful insights for those involved in researching and managing high streets and temporary retail space. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a qualitative approach, the study draws upon interviews with 87 participants involved in pop-up initiatives in the UK. This includes 28 interviews with supply-side stakeholders such as landlords and community representatives, 23 with pop-up owners and 36 with pop-up customers. Findings This study finds that pop-up business models are heterogeneous. Value is co-created through the multiple symbiotic relationships the pop-up has with stakeholders in the community ecosystem in which they are embedded. Further value is co-created through the customer/pop-up owner interactions and the unique, temporary retail experience. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to explore qualitatively, value co-creation in a novel temporary retail setting, which considers both the supply-side and demand-side perspective within a retail ecosystem. Previous studies have focused on customer experiences of pop-ups rather than considering how the pop-up offer can be managed and enhanced through the relationships pop-up owners have with wider community stakeholders, as well as customers. Adopting a holistic perspective to value creation is key given the challenging retail environment many communities are experiencing.