Pop-ups find open arms online

 
Christina Norsig, left, and Eric Anton, right, the husband-and-wife founders of PopUpInsider.com

With more retailers looking to capitalize on the downturn by opening temporary and less expensive “pop-up” locations, it’s no wonder that entrepreneurs have also sprouted up to help them find their short-term homes.

Eric Anton, executive managing director at Eastern Consolidated, and his wife, Christina Norsig, who was behind the successful launch of eTableTop.com, an online tableware store, have founded PopUpInsider.com, a Web site that helps match landlords with tenants looking for temporary space. The hope, according to the Web site, is that if the pop-up store is a success, temporary tenants will sign long-term leases.

Careful to note that they’re both “keeping [their] day jobs,” the couple announced the venture in a news release last month. Norsig said that the site will work with a range of shops, including houseware stores, food establishments and art and clothing vendors. Owners and landlords will be charged for advertising their property based on the cost of the space’s annual rent. A 12-month advertisement for a property that charges $100,000 per year or less to lease would cost $99.

Norsig said the timing is right for the Web site since more than 10 percent of retail space in New York City is currently empty.

“Our economic times have forced changes in how people think and do business,” Norsig said in the news release. “These changes have led me to believe that now is the time to introduce our concept that generates … exposure for otherwise empty real estate.”