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Growing up
“The movement towards experiential retail is happening
across the board,” says Vanessa Hartnoll, independent retail
expert and former global head of shopper insights for
research firm Hall & Partners. “Especially in the kids space,
we are finding more immersive and experiential retail. A lot
of money is being spent on obliterating the ‘look but don’t
touch’ rule.”
Hartnoll contends that all aspects of children’s retail are
“growing up” by changing the focus of their efforts from
selling products to parents to catering to children as consumers
in their own right. “They are treating the kids like
mini-adults now,” she says. “The kids are much more digitally
savvy, and retailers are starting to realize the influence
they are having on purchases. At the same time, adult retail
is becoming more playful and interactive, so we are seeing a
convergence of the two.”
Carol Spieckerman, president of Bentonville, Arkansas-based
retail consultancy newmarketbuilders, agrees
that big-box retail is going through a transformation
necessitated by the growing strength of the online sector.
“Online environments have become a lot more stimulating
and engaging than in-store,” she says. “Now retailers are
trying to bring that same level of brand engagement and
stickiness that used to describe the online environment
into their stores.”
The shift is also slowly changing the physical appearance
of retail locations, from big box to specialty, and the
makeover is becoming readily apparent to anyone walking
the aisles. “After years of cleaning up clutter and making everything
generic and tidy, now physical retail is in the early
stages of becoming highly experiential at the store level,”
says Spieckerman. “They see a mandate to make their physical
spaces work for them.”
She adds that while big-box retailers have lost their
competitive edge in terms of price and selection, they are
doubling their efforts to capitalize on their one clear advantage—physical
space. “It’s the only advantage they
have over a place like Amazon. They have the opportunity
to bring highly engaging experiential concepts into the actual
store.”
The land of robot greeters
A Stateside example of successful experiential retail cited
by Hartnoll can be found in Salt Lake City, Utah’s The
Grand America Hotel. Its retail space, called JouJou, occupies
part of the overall hotel and spa complex and carries
approximately 1,700 SKUs, focused primarily on nonlicensed
specialty and educational kids items that change
on a monthly basis.
“Inspiration [for the space] came from years of traveling
and a love and passion for toys,” says Brent Watts, creative
director at Struck, the agency that designed the space. “I
love the magical world and wanted people to be curious—
imagination is the key.”
JouJou opened in November 2011 and has since garnered
much attention for its unique approach to retailing.
Retail manager for The Grand America Hotel, LaChell
Talley, says the tone is set when a customer first walks into
the space and is greeted by a “monster display wall” populated
by robots.
“The figures, have names like Buzz and Paco and infrared
sensors that trigger movements,” she explains. “They
each have a personality. For example, Buzz runs away if he
sees someone.”
One of the “robot greeters” weighs 175 pounds and
stands nine feet tall. “It also has a trigger,” says Talley.
“When someone walks by, it says a funny phrase or tells a
joke. It’s fun for people—that is the point.”
The robots are just the first of many different interactive
and immersive experiences that dot the store’s 1,300 square
feet. The space also houses a candy organ that recalls the design
of a Pez dispenser and a floor keyboard reminiscent of
the attraction in FAO Schwarz’s flagship store in New York,
made famous by the film Big. “We always have children and
adults dancing on it,” adds Talley.
As part of a private corporation, The Grand America Hotel
complex doesn’t disclose sales, but Talley says JouJou has
become an attraction in and of itself and draws customers
from beyond the hotel complex. According to Hartnoll, it’s
become a notable toy retailer in the area.
“We are finding that the design and interactivity has improved
our sales because our customers are having such a
great time,” says Talley, adding that the interactive elements
do not get in the way of POS activities. “Our customers want
to take something home with them so they can remember
what a great experience they have had here.”
John Lewis innovates
In the UK, the growth of innovative and experiential
retail is no less noticeable. “John Lewis has recently revamped
its children’s area,” says Hartnoll. “It’s worth
checking out.”
She’s referring specifically to the fourth floor of the John
Lewis store located on Oxford Street in central London. With
a recent 2,000-square-foot expansion, the retailer, which
A monster display wall
manned by animatronic
robots greets customers
entering the JouJou store
housed in Salt Lake City,
Utah’s The Grand
America Hotel
May/June 2013
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