Pop-up shops - you may have heard of them. They’re sort of the retail equivalent to the shared space movement that’s currently going on in the office sector. Storefront is an online marketplace for leasing and advertising short-term retail space, helping fledgling retailers (in some cases) who are flying under the radar to get good deals on a lease with flexible terms, while at the same time providing exposure to storeowners, brokers and landlords looking their market open space in locations such as mall stores, restaurant spaces, kiosks, galleries markets and craft fairs, to name a few. In a nutshell, here’s how the site works:

 Create a free profile the provides details about your organization

Users looking for space can then browse to find the best matches in their particular area

As opposed to just browsing listings, users can customize their search preferences in order to save time in finding the right space

Any requests put out in terms of looking for a space are listed on the user’s dashboard, so they know exactly where they stand with regards to the spaces that they expressed interest in

In terms of listing space, Storefront makes the process as easy as possible with a simple, yet informative set of criteria

Aside from providing a platform for the streamlined exchange of retail space, Storefront goes far beyond a website that just promotes discovery. It also helps foster healthy business relationships between users moving forward, as it serves as both a secure conduit for the exchange of payments, in addition to providing access to support and retail insurance.

Storefront is currently up and running in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago, so if you’re in one of those areas and searching for retail space, it’s a good place to start. After all, creating a profile is free, so you literally don’t have anything to lose by checking it out.

For more information on Storefront, as well as pop-up shops in general, please visit The News Funnel.