What Happened
Nike’s new flagship retail store opened its door in the Soho neighborhood in New York City last week. The Lab team recently paid the store a visit to check out the unique in-store experience that Nike has crafted for this retail location. Below are some pictures that we took to help illustrate the installments that Nike created in this five-story store to draw in shoppers.
What Retailers Should Do
By taking an experience-focused approach and constructed dedicated areas for different activities, Nike effectively created a retail destination for sports and fitness fans, encouraging them to to try out their products in an optimized environment or simply to hang out with fellow sports fans and sneakerheads. The addition of touchscreens adds a digital touchpoint to the brick-and-mortar experience, bridging the gap between physical and online retail while doubling as self-serve information stations.
Increasingly, we are seeing brick-and-mortar retailers prioritizing this kind of experience-driven approach in designing their retail stores. For example, Bandier, an upscale activewear boutique, left some space in its flagship store for hosting yoga classes and other events for its customers to attend, turning its store into a destination for like-minded fitness lovers. For retailers, these examples of experiential retail should serve as inspirations to figure out how to craft an engaging in-store experience that attracts shoppers.
How We Can Help
The Lab has extensive experience working with retail, beauty, and CPG clients to create and implement digitally-enhanced experiences for their stores. The recently-opened NYX Cosmetics store at Union Square is a proud showcase of our team’s work in crafting a digitally enhanced, innovative retail experience. If you’d like to learn more about how your brand can develop an updated retail strategy and implement digital-driven retail solutions to transform your in-store experience, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) to schedule a visit to the Lab.
