N.Y. MTA launches 'pop up' stores pilot in subway

Hip, small stores will start making their way into subway stations for short-term stays under a new New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) program. The shops, known as “pop up stores,” will receive month-to-month leases from the MTA for small retail spaces that are temporarily vacant while the agency is arranging long-term leases.

The MTA piloted the concept in July by hosting The Newsstand, an indie-oriented media seller at the Lorimer St/Metropolitan Av station in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The first store that is formally a part of this new initiative is a pop-up branch of UNIQLO, the clothing retailer.

The pop-up store initiative allows small entrepreneurs, online businesses and established corporations to rent space in generally “as-is” condition to provide high visibility exposure for products or services where the emphasis is on displaying merchandise as much as actually conducting on-site transactions.

In some cases, retail customers would be encouraged to make their purchases online or at larger stores off site.