\u201cI think it\u2019s cool. I think it gives another side to the actual merch from the show. It gives us a chance to get some exclusives as well,\u201d said Mady, who was at the pop-up with her brother, Noah. <\/p>\n
Stand-alone merch pop-ups \u2014 which were unheard of several years ago \u2014 are now part of many major pop music tours. <\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0729-city-merch-8631_304501325.jpg\")
Staff check shoppers\u2019 appointment slots before they enter the pop-up boutique on Tuesday. Allen McInnis \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n
These types of limited-edition shops have existed in the sports industry for over 15 years, according to Siddhanth Mookerjee, a marketing professor at McGill University. As consumers shift their focus to spending money on experiences, he says artists and brands are creating new ways to tie events such as concerts to physical goods. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of these events that have these kinds of pre-events, like pop-ups and so on. Prior to the main event, they have these pre-events to build up anticipation and excitement,\u201d Mookerjee said in an interview. <\/p>\n
While Grande is playing three shows in Montreal this week, the pop-up opened Sunday and continues until Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day.<\/p>\n
Pop-ups and off-site merch sales for concert tours emerged during Kanye West\u2019s The Life of Pablo tour in 2016, according to events producer Noreen Hamid, who produced an Oasis pop-up in Toronto in 2025. She says Justin Bieber, the Weeknd and Drake followed suit shortly after.<\/p>\n
\u201cConcert merch is no longer just something you buy after the show. It\u2019s become part of the campaign, the fashion conversation and the overall fan experience. I\u2019ve seen first-hand how much that\u2019s changed audience behaviour,\u201d she said by email.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I produced for some of the Oasis pop-ups in North America last summer, nobody could\u2019ve predicted a \u201990s legacy band would become one of the biggest fashion trends of the summer, attracting lifelong fans, and some who weren\u2019t even alive when Oasis was originally releasing music. We had to double our staff after the first day because the line wrapped around Queen St. W. for several blocks from morning until night.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0729-city-merch-8719_304501319.jpg\")
Coleen Perez, left to right, Emanuel Tess and Anika Paterson show off their purchases at a pop-up boutique to sell Ariana Grande merchandise on Tuesday. Perez and Tess travelled from Toronto for the show. Allen McInnis \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n
Part of the reason these pop-ups have become so successful for artists and popular for fans, Mookerjee explained, is because they build a \u201cbrand community\u201d around a shared live experience, like a concert or a sporting event. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat you\u2019re really doing is you\u2019re trying to build a community of fans that care about the brand and the experience,\u201d he said. \u201cWith Ariana Grande, it\u2019s very much a branded experience.\u201d <\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0729-city-merch-8779_304501377.jpg\")
Julianne Jadormeo poses for pictures with her official teddy bear from the pop-up boutique. Allen McInnis \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n
Mookerjee added that the merch pop-ups tap into people\u2019s innate need to be part of a group, such as a fan community, while making fans feel like they get to be part of something with a limited run. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat these brands do really well is that they make these experiences really exclusive, so you have that need for uniqueness fulfilled. \u2026 This Ariana Grande pop-up merch event, it was exclusive; it wasn\u2019t open to everyone. You had appointments; they were all sold out,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s to build that sense of status and exclusivity. So your need for uniqueness is kind of satisfied, but also your need for belonging is satisfied.\u201d <\/p>\n
While there was some competition for the more exclusive merch at the Ariana Grande pop-up on Tuesday \u2014 like a teddy bear that doubles as a lip gloss pouch \u2014 fans were making friends in line outside the store, taking photos of one another and sharing concert memories. <\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0729-city-merch-8783_304501265.jpg\")
Long lines form outside the pop-up boutique to sell Ariana Grande merchandise on Tuesday. Allen McInnis \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the experience is so cool because it\u2019s kind of like heaven for a lot of Ariana Grande fans, because it\u2019s basically a whole store full of Ariana and her music is playing,\u201d said Ira Bansal, who flew from Vancouver for Grande\u2019s only Canadian stop on the Eternal Sunshine tour. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe get to meet so many other Arianators,\u201d her friend Roselyne Lu added, in reference to the star\u2019s global fan base. <\/p>\n
\u201cI came here alone, and I started just randomly talking to so many people in line, and everyone was so nice,\u201d said superfan Evan Warhaft. \u201cWe\u2019re all here for the same purpose, and just the sense of community was really warming.\u201d<\/p>\n
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