Department stores embrace retail theatre to boost sales

Department stores are setting the stage for a new era of experience shopping. Often referred to as retail theatre, department stores have had a tough decade, struggling to grow in a changing retail environment fraught with increased competition from online players and a drop in consumer demand. Shoppers, as we know, no longer need to leave their front door to buy a daily pint of milk, let alone to purchase clothing garments.

Enhanced shopping experiences are therefore being embraced by retailers, to lure customers back to their stores, recognising that consumers today do not just visit them to buy things. A desire for an omnichannel experience is forcing a change in the retail world and physical stores are becoming immersive brand experiences.

According to Accenture's Global Shopping report, the wants and needs of retail consumers and the efforts retailers are making to meet those needs reveals a fluid landscape where the ability to adapt has become a must-have skill. As consumers turn up the volume regarding their customer experience demands, retailers face a unique set of hurdles that will require a fundamental shift in the customer/company relationship.

Social shopping, retail theatre, shoppertainment

"All the major department store chains are trying to give their stores a raison d’être in the internet age. Retail theatre was pioneered by famous London department stores such as Selfridges," wrote the Guardian earlier this year. Whether it is called social shopping, shoppertainment or retail theatre, retailers are looking for more innovative ways to create an exciting in-store shopping experience.

When Westgate Shopping Centre opened in Oxford in October this year shoppers were welcomed by a theatrical performance of Alice in Wonderland. Last year Selfridges debuted the Festival Of The Imagination event, inviting customers to experience Selfridges not only as a store, but also as a “portal into the creative mind.”

Anyone who has ever been to Dubai and visited the Mall of the Emirates will know the meaning of retail theatre. It boasts a giant 22,000-square-metre indoor ski piste right in the middle of the desert. It's computer, the Dubai Mall, has an on-site aquarium with over 140 species of aquatic life, and the world’s biggest collection of sand sharks in a captive environment. This is a testament to the power of shoppertainment in driving store foot traffic. On a smaller scale, London’s Stratford Centre held an Alice in Wonderland tea party that saw a 30 percent increase in store foot traffic, reports Shoppertainment Management.

2018 promises to be an innovative year for retail theatre. As brands and stores of all sizes embrace new ways of connecting with audiences and customers, shopping has become so much more than brick-and-mortar sales. Shopping has become a journey in search of experience. It is up to retailers to make it both unique and memorable.

Photo credit: Mall of the Emirates