In The Era Of Online Shopping, The Retail Store Is Immersive Theater

Less than a mile apart, two extravagant new shopping destinations have opened in New York City. One, by Levi’s, sits right in Times Square, surrounded by the area’s flashing screens and rush of pedestrians. The other, Nike’s, is located on a tony stretch of Fifth Avenue, across the street from Cartier and a short walk from Rockefeller Center. The stores themselves are vastly different in their look and feel, but they have a lot in common. They’re “concept” stores, flagships for their brands and an attempt to dissolve the boundaries between online and offline shopping. They represent a shift happening in the way both companies sell their products, putting a heavy emphasis on one-to-one connections with customers, and customized products. Being physical spaces that surround you, they can be immersive in a way that an online experience can’t—at least not yet. They’re theater in the form of shopping spaces, where Nike and Levi’s stage-manage their customers through a narrative about the brand itself. Read more at Quartz.