The Notion of “Experience”

CREATING AN EXPERIENCE at retail: We’ve heard the phrase countless times. One could argue that stores are already innate experiences. Yet, the definition of “experience” has evolved and now reflects a continued increase in the utilization of showrooms, experience-only brand activations (with or without purchasable goods) and roving pop-ups. Permanent stores, too, possess a reinvigorated emphasis on the in-store experience, especially since the pandemic.

The category with the highest number of submissions in our 31st annual International Visual Competition (pg. 22) was “Temporary/Pop-Up Retail Space,” as it has been for roughly the last five years.

Temporary activations and pop-ups have been favored strategies for creating unique brand experiences for some time, but in recent years, they’ve exploded in popularity and have shifted to become another channel to reach consumers. Whether complex or simplistic in strategy or design, temporary retail can be used as another vehicle to garner brand recognition or promote reinvention. Most importantly, it can be used to create lasting memories for shoppers.

Our 2024 “Best in Show” winner for the Visual Competition did just that. A brand activation showcasing Michael Kors’ (New York) latest Empire Jacquard print, the temporary display was styled like a deconstructed airplane in Paris’ Galeries Lafayette. Though this VM spectacle was primarily to raise awareness for the brand and its latest offerings, it also attracted new customers – not to mention our 2024 judges – with its clever and eye-catching references to air travel.

We’ll be celebrating all our Visual Competition winners and discussing more about the importance of experiences at retail during the 2024 International Retail Design Conference (IRDC) in Kansas City, Mo., this Oct. 9-10. Stay tuned for our upcoming September/October issue, which will feature an exciting preview of the 24th annual conference, alongside our annual trends piece focusing on restaurants and the announcement of our 2024 VMSD/Peter Glen Retailer of the Year, chosen by VMSD’s Editorial Advisory Board.

And if you’re reading this before late August, you still have time to use the Early Bird registration rate for IRDC 2024 to join us in Kansas City! To learn more, or to register for IRDC, please visit irdconline.com. To register or learn more about the 2024 Shop! Association Ideation Conference & Retail Challenge taking place Oct. 7-8 and co-locating with IRDC, please visit shopassociation.org/ideation.

We hope to have you experience Shop! Ideation and IRDC with us in Kansas City this fall. See you soon!