Gone are the days when consumers saw shopping as a purely utilitarian act; stimulated by ever more inventive brands to create unique in-store experiences, shoppers now demand entertainment when they shop.
Welcome to the age of retailtainment!
Today, Sidely takes you on a tour of this concept, developed in the United States and now firmly established in our stores, shopping malls and urban spaces.
We'll start by defining the general concepts used by brands in their retail marketing. Then we'll look at the impact of digital on entertainment and retail. Finally, we'll look at the role of major commercial projects in the adoption of retailtainment.
Retailtainment is a marketing strategy that combinesretail andentertainment to offer consumers an immersive and memorable shopping experience.
Its aim is to transform a point of sale into a unique experience, going beyond the simple act of purchasing to create an emotional connection with the customer. Many retailtainment solutions aim to put the consumer at the heart of the experience, based on interaction marketing.
Echoing classic merchandising techniques, retailtainment can be seen as large-scale theatricalization, or a global universe whose main objective is to make an impression, and not just to sell a product.
Halfway between leisure and shopping, the experience is sometimes referred to as fun shopping. As in the case of pop-up stores, these are often event-driven or ephemeral. But sometimes, because they've become victims of their own success, the projects become permanent fixtures!
The term " retailtainment " covers everything from in-store displays to short-lived corners in public areas, or even activities and attractions installed close to points of sale, as is often the case in shopping centers. In all cases, the aim is to trigger emotions, as in sensorial marketing.
Retailtainment rests on 3 fundamental pillars:
Although not systematic, we can addtechnological innovation, which will enhance the experience with augmented reality, virtual reality or interactive screens.
Retailtainment allows marketing teams to pursue different objectives:
The impact of retailtainment relies heavily on the strength of its concept, sometimes innovative, sometimes daring. Its ability to leave a lasting impression makes it an idealactivation tool for brands.
This key storytelling technique has an effective and lasting impact on consumers' perception of the brand.
For sales outlets, creating a surprising experience helps to attract new customers and have a significant impact on brand awareness.
Retailtainment was born in the 1990s, with retailers like Disney Store offering interactive experiences to liven up - and make more fun - their sales areas.
Over time, brands like Apple popularized this approach, transforming their stores into interaction spaces, where customers could test products and take part in workshops.
Historically, large-scale commercial projects have also played a significant role in this development, by imagining global spaces that could accommodate everything from restaurants to bowling alleys, cinemas and a wide variety of sporting and cultural activities. While many of these projects have failed or disappointed, their impetus has played a major role in changing the perception of retail and shopping centers as places for leisure and entertainment.
Last but not least, retailtainment has become an important lever for keeping the offline retail craze alive in the face of the emergence of online sales. Physical outlets are seeking to offer experiences that pure players cannot reproduce on their digital platforms.
Today, retailtainment is widely used to offer memorable in-store experiences, and reinforce customer engagement through events, animations and demonstrations.
By embracing the concept of retailtainment, brands and chains have invented a new kind of ephemeral or long-lasting store.
The most common are flagships, concept stores and pop-up stores.
The flagship store is a brand's flagship store, designed to showcase its identity, products and expertise in an exceptional way. Strategically located, it often offers a unique customer experience thanks to innovative design, exclusive services and immersive technologies. It serves as an emblematic showcase to reinforce brand image and attract a wide audience.
A concept store is a store that combines commerce, lifestyle and customer experience around a specific universe or theme. Unlike traditional boutiques, they don't just sell products, but offer a specialized and eclectic selection (fashion, home decoration, accessories, etc.) often linked to a specific atmosphere or lifestyle. These places focus on design, scenography and originality to create a unique and immersive experience, attracting customers in search of novelty and inspiration.
A pop-up store (or ephemeral boutique) is a temporary point of sale set up for a limited time, often in strategic locations such as city centers, shopping malls or high-traffic areas. These stores are particularly useful for creating a surprise effect and generating engagement. By enabling direct interaction with customers, they often create a buzz on social networks.
So it's no coincidence that the pop-up store is regularly called upon to serve the various marketing objectives of brands: to test a new product, reinforce brand awareness or position storytelling, create immersive experiences, capitalize on a particular event, or offer limited editions or special collections... The pop-up store can do it all!
Logically, it can be found in industries such as fashion, beauty, food, technology, art and luxury. Its effective animation enables us to reach out to a target group that would otherwise find it difficult to take the plunge unless stimulated.
While the rise of retailtainment has developed - in part - as a response to e-commerce, the possibilities offered by digital technology are in turn revolutionizing retailtainment. On the one hand, entertainment plays an important role on websites and mobile applications. On the other, screens are playing an increasingly important role in physical retail outlets.
For example, brands are increasingly focusing on immersive experiences with augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) applications, both at physical points of sale and on their websites.
When online and offline marketing systems converge, we speak of omnichannel strategy, or the phygitalization of retail.
On the retail side, the dramatization of sales areas is rapidly going digital, with the aim of creating interactive scenes. Consumers are offered a truly gamified shopping experience. The most daring cases feature robots, holograms, connected objects (IOTs), or even golf, surfing or driving simulators!
Among the noteworthy methods observed in recent years are the following:
For shopping centers, retailtainment involves some clever calculations, as the installation of attractions can limit profitability per m². However, this strategy is justified by the increased footfall and improved sales figures generated by the supermarket and shopping mall.
Brands generally follow the same reasoning: in terms of investment, an installation often generates less margin than a boutique. But its impact on brand perception can boost sales in the long term.
Leisure has thus become a genuine loss leader. Knowing the purchasing power and socio-professional categories of a catchment area allows us to invent attractions and leisure activities that will be successful on a given site. Commercial spaces and shopping malls are all opportunities to generate entertainment and experience.
