E-Retailers Pop Up Outside Cyber Space

NEW YORK (TheStreet) - From high fashion brands like Chanel to mainstream chains like Target(TGT), brick-and-mortar retailers have widely adopted pop-up stores within the last several years.

These miniature shops, which are only open for several weeks before disappearing, boost brands looking to pick up market share in a geographic area they're not already present, especially during the holiday season.

But this year, pop-up stores are serving another purpose -- attracting shoppers to retailers' dot-com initiatives.

Earlier this month, eBay(EBAY) opened pop-up locations in New York, San Francisco and London. Its London store displayed products available online, allowing shoppers to scan barcodes of items and buy products through mobile phones. In New York and San Francisco, the company set up storefronts with digital screens that included scan-able price tags.

Gilt Groupe's Park & Bond pop-up shop

Wal-Mart(WMT), in turn, started its own pop-up experiment, opening two test stores in California malls designed to promote its Walmart.com brand. These stores, which will remain open until the end of the year, carry a select mix of toys and consumer electronics. Shoppers can also sit down at stations to order and browse additional products from Walmart.com on tablets and laptops.

"These stores will allow customers to have one continuous experience and are a way to bring exposure to Walmart.com and see a different offering from the brand," said Lorenzo Lopez, spokesman at Wal-Mart.

It's not just established retailers that are looking to get into the game, as start-ups have jumped in as well.

Flash sales site Gilt Groupe worked with GQ Magazine to open a two week pop-up store in New York's trendy Meatpacking District for its full priced men's line Park & Bond. The store includes items like denim, new and vintage watches, gadgets and grooming products.

"It was the idea of bringing the online experience to life," said John Auerbach, president of Park & Bond.

Online eyeglass shop Warby Parker has launched a temporary holiday store in a refurbished garage including the brand's retro chic eyewear and a rotating selection of offbeat gifts like customized hats and art-focused books and magazines.