Idea Validation: Market demand, Product, Willingness to pay

One Night Stand

Probe demand with a temporary working solution

Illustration of One Night Stand
Run a One Night Stand play

Also called: Lemonade Stand, Pop-Up Store

See also: Concierge, Provencial

Difficulty: Intermediate

Evidence strength
50

Relevant metrics: Acquisition, Activation, Customer feedback, Use cases discovered, Cost

Validates: Feasibility, Viability, Desirability

How: Create a complete service experience without the infrastructure required by a permanent solution, and in an extremely narrow geographic scope and time frame, but in the same real-life situation where the product or service will be used.

Why: Avoid large infrastructure investment until validating market interest and actual use.

This experiment is part of the Validation Patterns printed card deck

A collection of 60 product experiments that will validate your idea in a matter of days, not months. They are regularly used by product builders at companies like Google, Facebook, Dropbox, and Amazon.

Get your deck!

Before the experiment

The first thing to do when planning any kind of test or experiment, is to figure out what you want to test. To make critical assumptions explicit, fill out an experiment sheet as you prepare your test. We created a sample sheet for you to get started. Download the Experiment Sheet.

Validate in real-life before scaling up

When a specialized facility can be replaced in a trial for a temporary setup, you might want to consider conducting a one-night stand experiment, where you simulate the customer experience you want to end up with, but only for a limited time. The experiment is especially useful to validate large homogeneous markets before scaling up.

Examples of successful one-night stand experiments are:

  • Rent a tent in a parking lot of an existing store
  • Rent a stall or a kiosk in a farmers market or flea market
  • Lease a retail location for only a few months (on purpose)

When to use One Night Stand experiments

This approach is particularly useful in the early stages of product development to assess market interest in a new idea or offering without committing to full-scale development.

For instance, a typical example could be a company testing a new product concept by setting up a temporary physical presence, like renting a tent in a parking lot or a stall at a farmers’ market. This allows them to gauge customer interest and gather feedback without the costs and commitments associated with establishing a permanent retail location.

Another application could be in digital product development, where a company might launch a temporary version of a digital product or feature online. This version would be used to collect user feedback and usage data, providing insights into whether the product meets market needs and how it could be improved.

After the experiment

To make sure you move forward, it is a good idea to systematically record your the insights you learned and what actions or decisions follow. We created a sample Learning Sheet, that will help you capture insights in the process of turning your product ideas successful. Download the Learning Sheet.

Examples

Fruit of the Loom

Fruit of the Loom has been seen to rent unused retail spaces in London and Berlin – both with four-month short leases to test consumer appeal with a new garment.

Source: Fruit of the Loom is ‘Pretotyping in a Pop-up’ to Concept Test Premium Brand

Glossier

Initially an online-only skincare and beauty brand, Glossier has hosted numerous pop-up experiences, such as the 2015 Summer Fridays Showroom in New York and a greenhouse-inspired pop-up in Seattle in 2019. These pop-ups allowed Glossier to showcase its products in unique settings and gather valuable customer feedback.

Source: 15 Creative and Inspiring Examples of Popup Shops

The Hello Kitty Cafe Truck

Leveraging the global recognition of the Hello Kitty brand, the Hello Kitty Cafe Truck started as a pop-up concept and has since evolved into permanent locations. The initial pop-up truck toured various U.S. cities, generating excitement and gauging customer interest.

Source: 15 Creative and Inspiring Examples of Popup Shops

Adidas

In 2019, Adidas launched a retro-style shoe with an interactive pop-up shop in New York. The pop-up featured a futuristic design with LED screens and projections, creating an immersive experience for visitors and helping the brand validate market interest in the new product.

Source: 15 Creative and Inspiring Examples of Popup Shops

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