Project
As principle-led shopping picks up pace, Back Market sees the benefits in presenting ist products in a space that peels back the polish of high-end tech retailers.
There are many reasons why you’d buy a refurbished tech product. Brand-new devices come with a host of baggage: human rights issues for workers, damage to ecosystems, a higher price tag. But buying a second-hand iPhone off of Facebook Marketplace is risky, too. Companies like Back Market fill the gap in the market with professionally refurbished and certified electronics. As principle-led shopping picks up pace with Gen-Z at the forefront, Back Market sees the benefits in presenting its products in a retail space that peels back the polish of high-end tech retailers, as shown in this New York pop-up.
Instead of seamless floor-to-ceiling finishes à la Apple store, this shop’s stickered floor in concrete grey, industrial shelving and repair stations more closely resemble the spaces where things get fixed and made: workshops and factory floors. Circular technology slogans like ‘repair is a right’ and ‘do more with what we already have,’ give the space a DIY activism flavour. Supported by programming and events, it reinforces the company’s community-led growth, hopefully leading to a world in which more people care about the circularity of their electronic devices.
Retail, DIY, education and community come together at this Broadway pop-up – the space supports shopping, device repair, a ‘tech spa’ where visitors can give their devices maintenance, and get help repairing their devices. Refurbished items can be viewed in person in the display shelves and tables, and signs with circular tech-slogans hang from the ceiling. An industrial-grey floor with yellow stickers helps to determine visitor flow, while a seating area with game consoles, charging points and exploded-view phone décor make space for visitors to linger or engage in community events. Repair stations are built into colour-coded industrial shelving visible from the street, enticing passers-by with a behind-the-scenes view.
