Project location: SoHo, New York · Project context: 2023 · Prepared by POPUP from the project archive in October 2026.
Singles' Day gained a physical stage in New York. AliExpress combined product discovery with music and a Swae Lee partnership brokered and managed by POPUP, connecting the marketplace with the artist's audience.
How can a shopping occasion become a live cultural experience?
A shopping occasion can become more meaningful when people encounter the brand through culture, products and other people.
Create a physical home for Singles’ Day where the digital marketplace and an artist partnership meet.
New York: give Singles’ Day a cultural stage
The New York experience brought product discovery into an environment of bold brand graphics, music and guest interaction. The Swae Lee partnership, brokered and managed by POPUP, connected the shopping occasion with an artist’s audience.
Connect the experience back to the marketplace
Physical product displays gave visitors a place to begin, while QR-code touchpoints connected that exploration to the digital platform. Each chapter used a live encounter to make an expansive online marketplace more approachable.
The planning lesson
Agree on the talent relationship and the product journey together. The performance or appearance should have a clear place within the shopping occasion. Give guests an easy way to continue discovery on the platform after the live encounter.
Who delivered the experience
POPUP produced the activation and brokered and managed the Swae Lee partnership for the Singles’ Day campaign.
What the experience made possible
The Swae Lee partnership and immersive store connected AliExpress with live entertainment and in-person product discovery.
Project questions
Where did the experience take place?
AliExpress: SoHo, New York.
What was the delivery scope?
Experience production; Talent partnership origination; Partnership management; Guest experience.
Explore related work
Further reading
For the wider event and campaign context:
