SHEIN’s Pop Up Store goes beyond digital and lands in Catania

Millennials, Gen Z and beyond: we’re all used to shopping online by now! From the comfort of home we scroll through the clothes and, with a simple click, pick size and colour and off they go into the basket. From there, all that’s left is to wait for the beloved courier, who will arrive at the most inconvenient moment possible and, if all goes well, we’ll be ready to greet him in pyjamas, odd socks and messy hair (because yes, don’t tell me it only happened to me, I know it’s happened to you too at least once in your life).

SHEIN: an online shopping giant

That said, one of the giants of online fashion is definitely SHEIN! Lots of clothes and much more: from accessories to make-up, from office wear to home décor: a huge range of choices for every kind of person and taste. When you buy online, though, you need a certain skill and attention in choosing sizes and reading the product description. So how many times, while browsing the SHEIN site, have we wished we could touch the products with our own hands?

SHEIN’s Pop Up Stores: shopping offline!

Well, as if by magic, this dream seems to come true every so often! With the exception of the permanent store in Tokyo, the answer to this wish has been the Pop Up Stores: temporary physical shops that open to the public for a few days in major cities, and have also reached Italy: Milan, Rome, Turin, Naples.

From 24 to 27 April it’s Catania’s turn to host SHEIN’s Pop Up for a few days at Le Ciminiere: “Flowerville”, a colourful, floral world, ready to welcome the thousands of visitors who will have the chance to discover the brand’s coolest pieces. A super Instagrammable area, with dedicated spaces to take souvenir photos against lively backdrops with a natural charm.

Beyond digital, but inevitably social

SHEIN’s Pop Up Stores may well be an opportunity to present products away from the web, but the help of social media remains essential all the same. And so, to anticipate the opening of the store, on 23 April there was a private event where many local influencers (and not only) could show off in advance what would be presented to everyone from the following day. #meetSHEIN #SHEINCatania #SHEINFlowerVille were the main hashtags to use in stories, posts and social content of every kind. Nothing new, considering that SHEIN’s commercial strategy finds fertile ground on social media, on Instagram as much as on TikTok. I was invited to the event too and got to enjoy the 360° experience. For anyone who missed it, here’s the link to the reel.