Retail's top immersive retail experiences
Whether delivering entertainment, blending new lines of business or using technology to drive convenience, retailers are tapping innovative ideas to redefine their store spaces and engage customers.
Following are highlights of some of the industry's most innovative retail experiences and concepts:
Foot Locker: The sneaker giant’s new immersive concept, which opened last summer in New York City, features an easier-to-shop layout, a modern environment, digital fixtures and other technological advances. Highlights include "The Clinic Digital Experience," a self-initiated vertical jump challenge to test sneaker performance , 3D scanning technology to help customers find the best fit for their kicks, and an interactive Kids Foot Locker concept that features an activity table and social spaces to capture selfies, among other offerings.
Kuiu: Kuiu’s Dallas-based flagship offers hands-on experiences that enable customers to interact with its extreme outdoor gear. Partnering with design firm ChangeUp, the direct-to-consumer retailer created “an environment that builds excitement,” said Jamie Cornelius, executive creative director at ChangeUp.
Lightboxes set against the store’s large glass windows feature expansive landscapes showcasing Kuiu’s gear and apparel in action. And there is engagement at every turn.
The store’s “pack system experience” features gear experts that provide hands-on consultations — a service that ensures shoppers purchase the correct gear for their journey. The space also displays merchandise broken-down layer-by-layer to help customers understand functionality.
Puma: The athletic footwear and apparel giant opened its second North American flagship — a 25,000-sq.-ft., three-level store at BLVD Las Vegas, a new retail and entertainment development in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip. The new store features a variety of immersive and interactive features powered by cutting-edge technology.
Highlights include a professional F1 racing simulator, an interactive arcade and a customization studio where customers can personalize apparel and footwear. The merchandise assortment is comprised of Puma sportstyle collections across basketball, motorsport, golf, running, training, soccer and kids products, among other lines. The flagship also features the “Vegas Shop,” which offers Las Vegas-specific apparel and footwear, and a functional video wall slot machine that rewards prizes.
H&M: After nearly 25 years in operation, H&M’s New York City Times Square flagship received a facelift that now emphasizes an elevated, multi-sensory shopping experience. Highlights include an immersive fitting area that feature interactive mirrors and LED screens embedded in the space’s floor and ceiling.
While inside the multi-sensory fitting rooms, customers can select visual themes and music, and the rooms also encourage customers to create and share their own content, noted H&M. Combining art and technology on each side of the main escalator, the store features a multi-story ambient light display as shoppers ascend to the upper levels.
Outlandish: E-commerce startup Outlandish opened its first U.S. flagship — one that blends the interactivity of live-streamed social media shopping with the hands-on experience of traditional retail. Located on the busy Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, Calif., the outdoor apparel and gear retailer’s store features state-of-the-art live-streaming booths, allowing influencers and brands to broadcast live shopping events right on the store floor. Here, customers engage with creators in person or virtually through the Outlandish platform, which is a certified TikTok partner.
Sam’s Club: The club giant’s new Grapevine, Tex., location doubles as a store and innovation lab. The 150,000-sq.-ft. club store has no traditional checkout counters or self-checkout kiosks. Instead, customers use the retailer’s Scan & Go app on their personal mobile device to scan items and complete payments, skipping the checkout line entirely. Purchases are digitally verified as they pass through one of three automated exits powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and computer vision.
The extra space is being used as an “omnichannel showroom” showcasing Sam’s online-only items. Members use the Scan & Go app to scan merchandise QR codes to learn more about the item and make a purchase. Additionally, approximately 6,000 sq. ft. of space is dedicated to online order fulfillment — that’s four times the standard fulfillment space allotted in other Sam’s.
The club also features a café with a pizza robot and sushi and home meal solutions stands, a full-service pharmacy, and optical and hearing centers.