It is not common for an enterprise software company focused on B2B to open a pop-up store for the general public, but it is not unheard of.

Salesforce also held a pop-up store event over two days, on April 24 and 25, at the COEX lawn plaza. The aim was to introduce the public to the various AI functions provided by Slack, a collaboration and communications platform.

The event was planned and run by Salesforce Korea, and it was the first time the company has held an offline event for the general public.

Salesforce Korea has shared Slack’s latest technology and strategy with corporate customers through an annual autumn conference. This year, it changed the format to a pop-up store instead of a conference and expanded the audience to the general public. The company explained it judged COEX to be better suited than other areas because many IT-related exhibitions are held there and many IT companies are nearby.

Rather than a seminar format that simply explains product functions, the event was run to offer visitors a chance to directly experience the Slack work environment.

Salesforce gave particular prominence at the event to its recently introduced customised AI agent, Slackbot.

Slackbot, which presents itself as an "Agentic Work OS," uses the Salesforce Data Foundation, based on data accumulated within Slack, including all business data covering people, agents and tasks. It serves as a tailored assistant and colleague depending on roles and characteristics within a user’s organisation.

Slackbot learns a user’s work style, predicts needs and goes beyond the step of finding information to help with direct execution, the company said.

With this in mind, Salesforce Korea said it focused the pop-up store on helping existing Slack users newly discover familiar service value, while giving non-users an intuitive experience of a new way of working. It mixed in an outdoor picnic atmosphere that colleagues and family could join casually. It also set up a space where people could have a light beer.

A Salesforce Korea official said, "The pop-up store is not held at a global level but is an event planned by the Korea branch and held only in Korea." The official added, "It was an opportunity for those who do not know Slack well to learn more about Slack and experience it directly."