Retailers from Eileen Fisher to Bloomingdale’s are developing creative methods to attract consumers into brick-and-mortar locations, providing a customized and memorable experience
Shoppers want to visit stores to experience what they can’t online. They want to get hands-on with products and immerse themselves in inspirational environments to build confidence and create an emotional connection between the merchandise and the brand.
To give their customers a reason to visit and prompt them to share, companies are injecting theater, storytelling and uniqueness into their physical footprints, positioning the store as a marketing channel as much as a place to buy. Here’s how top retailers are attempting to establish a connection between consumers and the product to drive loyalty:
Eileen Fisher
Making Space is a concept store in Brooklyn from women’s apparel retailer Eileen Fisher. It offers a community-centered retail experience and highlights the brand’s commitment to sustainability. Making Space aims to serve as a local hub by engaging the community through artist-led workshops, film screenings, gallery exhibits and neighborhood events. The store also makes creative use of discarded garments for its decor by recycling Eileen Fisher clothing into fitting-room curtains and rag rugs, and invites an artist-in-residence to turn cast-off clothing into limited-edition pieces.
Levi’s Project FLX
Denim retailer Levi’s created a pop-up studio called Project FLX that uses lasers to create custom jeans in minutes. At the invite-only studio in Los Angeles, shoppers can choose their desired denim finish and wash, and watch as lasers create their custom jeans in minutes. The on-demand finishing allows Levi’s to reduce the amount of labor that is traditionally needed to distress a pair of jeans, while also reducing waste and giving them valuable insight into changing consumer tastes. The service will launch in select Levi’s stores and online in spring 2019.
Bloomingdale’s Carousel
Department store Bloomingdale’s has launched the ‘Carousel,’ a series of rotating pop-ups featuring merchandise that has been curated around different themes. Located inside select locations around the U.S., these theme-based pop-up shops will change assortment every two months, giving customers the opportunity to immerse themselves in an exclusive experience as well as introduce them to brands and products that they might be unfamiliar with. The first carousel was curated in partnership with TRX, maker of fitness equipment and training apps, based on the theme Urban Explorer, targeting an adventurous customer.
These are just a few examples of how retailers are marketing a memorable experience for consumers. For more insights, download PSFK’s Future of Retail 2019 report.
Shoppers want to visit stores to experience what they can’t online. They want to get hands-on with products and immerse themselves in inspirational environments to build confidence and create an emotional connection between the merchandise and the brand.