Because Retail is the process of selling consumer goods or services to customers

through multiple channels of distribution to earn a profit. Retailers satisfy

demand identified through a supply chain. The term "retailer" is typically applied
where a service provider fills the small orders of many individuals, who are end-
users, rather than large orders of a small number of wholesale, corporate or
government clientele. Shopping generally refers to the act of buying products.
Sometimes this is done to obtain final goods, including necessities such as food
and clothing; sometimes it takes place as a recreational activity. Recreational
shopping often involves window shopping and browsing: it does not always result in
a purchase.

Retail markets and shops have a very ancient history, dating back to antiquity.
Some of the earliest retailers were itinerant peddlers. Over the centuries, retail
shops were transformed from little more than "rude booths" to the sophisticated
shopping malls of the modern era.

Most modern retailers typically make a variety of strategic level decisions

including the type of store, the market to be served, the optimal product
assortment, customer service, supporting services and the store's overall market
positioning. Once the strategic retail plan is in place, retailers devise the
retail mix which includes product, price, place, promotion, personnel, and
presentation. In the digital age, an increasing number of retailers are seeking to
reach broader markets by selling through multiple channels, including both bricks
and mortar and online retailing. Digital technologies are also changing the way
that consumers pay for goods and services. Retailing support services may also
include the provision of credit, delivery services, advisory services, stylist
services and a range of other supporting services.

Retail shops occur in a diverse range of types and in many different contexts �
from strip shopping centres in residential streets through to large, indoor
shopping malls. Shopping streets may restrict traffic to pedestrians only.
Sometimes a shopping street has a partial or full roof to create a more comfortable
shopping environment � protecting customers from various types of weather
conditions such as extreme temperatures, winds or precipitation. Forms of non-shop
retailing include online retailing (a type of electronic-commerce used for
business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions) and mail order.

Contents
1 Etymology
2 Definition and explanation
3 History
3.1 Retailing in antiquity
3.2 Retailing in Medieval Europe
3.3 Retailing in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries
3.4 Retailing in the modern era
4 Retail strategy
5 The retail marketing mix
5.1 Product
5.1.1 Product assortment
5.1.2 Customer service and supporting services
5.1.2.1 Types of customer service
5.2 Place
5.2.1 Location
5.2.1.1 Macro factors
5.2.1.2 Micro factors
5.2.2 Channels
5.3 Pricing strategy and tactics
5.3.1 Pricing tactics
5.4 Personnel and staffing
5.4.1 Selling and sales techniques
5.5 Promotion
5.6 Presentation
5.6.1 Designing retail spaces
6 Shopper profiles
7 Retail format: types of retail outlet
7.1 Retail type by product
7.2 Retail types by marketing strategy
7.3 Other retail types
8 Challenges
9 Global top ten retailers
10 Competition
10.1 Mergers and acquisitions
11 Statistics for national retail sales
11.1 United States
11.2 Central Europe
11.3 World
12 Consolidation
13 Gallery
14 See also
15 References
16 Further reading
17 External links
of this, retailers have evolved their offerings. By focusing on so-called
�retailtainment�, and immersive retail experiences, retailers are able to provide
customers with fun, unique experiences that elevate shopping to new heights.

With retailtainment, the retail industry is shifting attention from a features-and-

benefits approach to a focus on immersive shopping and customer experience. To be
successful, retailers must offer consumers a desirable retail experience that in
turn drives sales.

Here are our favourite examples of Experiential Retail in action:

Marvel: Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N provides fans with interactive brand building

experience
Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. is an immersive exhibit that has toured the world since the
first Avengers film. It has appeared in key retail areas such as New York, Seoul,
Paris, Beijing, London and Las Vegas, and always pulls in huge crowds. Based on the
global box-office film franchise, Marvel�s The Avengers, the store features real
life movie props and interactive displays.

There are Marvel branded items for sale but the goal of the project is not to shift
T-shirts and mugs. It is about delivering an experience to fans and bringing the
brand to life.

Experiential retail Marvel's Avengers

Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. allows Marvel fans to step into a world of superheroes and
villains
The Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. is a great example of retailtainment and experiential
retail in action. Visitors are fully immersed in the fictional world they adore,
further cementing their affiliation and love for the Marvel brand.

For a brand as strong and iconic as Marvel, it would be easy to sit back and take
popularity for granted. However, through the use of retailtainment they are
continuing to delight their customers beyond the screen.

Farfetch: Creating a retail experience of the future

Farfetch London Retailtainment
Image via Bloomberg
Farfetch is as an e-commerce portal for luxury boutiques. It�s successfully
positioned itself as a technology provider for brands; combining technology and
fashion to provide unique in-store experiences.

Jos� Neves, CEO of Farfetch, has spoken about his concern that physical retail is
diminishing; it accounts for 93 per cent of sales today, but by 2025 is predicted
to account for just 80 per cent.

Enter: Farfetch�s Augmented Retail Solution

Neves� vision for retailtainment includes advancements in technology to make the
consumer experience more human. He produced Farfetch�s Store of the Future, an
augmented retail solution that �links the online and offline worlds, using data to
enhance the retail experience.�

In its retail store in London, Farfetch provided connected clothing racks, touch-
screen-enhanced mirrors and sign-in stations that pulled data collected online to
use in-store.

Farfetch provided customers with a sign-in screen to search their purchase history
and wish list, which provided valuable customer insight for the sales assistants.
There was also a smart mirror to request different sizes, alternative products or
pay without leaving the dressing room.

This innovation led them to be labeled as �The Retailer of the Future�, allowing
customers to enjoy an effortless experience that harmonizes the best parts of
boutique shopping with the speed and convenience of online shopping.

Huda Beauty: Cosmic experience in Covent Garden

Huda Beauty, one of the world�s fastest-growing beauty brands, ran an immersive
retail experience pop-up right in the centre of Covent Garden, London, to launch a
new product range and reach new customers.

Huda used the location (sourced by Storefront) to deliver a sci-fi themed

experience in support of their new new eye-shadow palette Mercury Retrograde.

The entire exterior of the pop-up resembled a multi-faceted, metallic mass of

geometrical shapes. This was echoed inside with various �galactic� elements, all
manner of mirrored surfaces?and shimmering fixtures and elements.

Huda beauty experiential retail

Huda Beauty�s sci-fi inspired pop-up in Covent Garden, London.
As part of the event visitors could sit on the throne Huda used in her launch
material, all set up to encourage as much social media activity and engagement as
possible.

Huda Beauty caught the eye and wowed its visitors. Introducing a whole swathe of
new customers to the Huda Beauty brand.

Vans: A shopping experience to remember

The House of Vans experiential store focuses on retailtainment
Image via Skateparks
The House of Vans in London lives up to the company motto of being �off the wall�.
A location where art, music, BMX, street culture and fashion converge, you can find
almost everything you can imagine across the 30,000 square feet building. Amongst a
cinema, caf�, live music venue and art gallery, the bottom floor holds the most
unique feature of the building: the concrete ramp, mini ramp and street course.
Nothing better epitomizes the Vans brand than a space where young people can not
only shop but spontaneously socialize. The House of Vans is the perfect example of
how experiential retail can be used to empower a shopping experience.

Ikea: Using social media to power a unique retail experience

The IKEA sleepover experiential retail
Image via Daily Mail
Ikea brought 100 Facebook competition winners to one of its warehouses and let them
stay the night. They were able to select the mattress, sheets and pillows to fully
give them a fully tailored experience. A sleep expert was on hand with tips for
getting a good night�s rest, including how to find the perfect mattress for any
sleeping style.

This was a clever and unique way to obtain visibility and get fans to focus on what
Ikea has to offer and try it out for themselves.

This idea came from understanding their consumer insights on social media. Lois
Blenkinsop, Ikea�s U.K. PR and internal communications manager, said: �Social media
has opened up a unique platform for us to interact directly with our customers.
Listening to what they want is what we do best, and the Big Sleepover is just one
example of how we�re using such instant and open feedback to better inform our
marketing activity.�

From using social media they were able to apply experiential marketing to their
retail strategy and provide their customers with a memorable event that brought the
brand a ton of visibility and engagement.

Space Ninety 8: showcasing the art of retailtainment

The Space Ninety8 Instagram page showcasing its retailtainment-focused store
Image via @Space90
As a spin-off from Urban Outfitters, Space Ninety 8 is a shared retail space that
spans 5 floors, hosting retailers, galleries and even a rooftop restaurant and bar.

Scanning their Instagram, you can see the variety of what Space Ninety 8 offers
beyond solely retail. Advertised next to yoga classes is an album signing by Big
Boi, alongside pictures of art classes and Lady GaGa merchandise. By reflecting the
flexible nature of modern life, the brand created a versatile store that emphasizes
experience, perfecting the art of retailtainment.

TOMS: creating an immersive experience through VR

Experiences don�t have to be a permanent feature of a store in order to make an
impact on customers. In 2015 TOMS� placed VR headsets into 100 stores, enabling
them to virtually transport customers to Peru to see the impact of their One for
One giving campaign on local people.

As you walk through the village with locals smiling and waving at you, it is
impossible not to feel warmed by the friendly atmosphere. Not only did this retail
experience improve awareness of their social corporate responsibility and promote
their giving campaign, it also gave customers an unforgettable and immersive
experience they were unlikely to forget.

[Check out Toms� continued focus on immersive retail experiences here]

How to Provide Retailtainment that Drive Traffic and Sales

These case studies all stress the importance of providing an in-store experience.
These are five consistent elements each use to ensure a remarkable customer
shopping experience:

Interactiveness: All of these retailers ensure that the senses are connected �
memories of what we feel, hear, see, smell, and touch, may last a lifetime.
Originality: These ideas were all authentic and natural, making the customer feel
as if they entered a different world.
Connectedness: Customers must feel that the experience has been created for them.
Unexpectedness: These unique experiences are critical to ensure your brand is
remembered.
Reliability: The experience is executed through tested methods to achieve
consistency and excellence.
The Future is Now
Experiential marketing isn�t about spending millions on fancy gadgets for your
retail store. Sure it can help, but it�s mostly about a personalized shopping
experience and providing an unparalleled retail experience for your customer. These
case studies all demonstrate how it is possible to follow similar steps to overcome
the challenges eCommerce has brought.

[For more smart ideas to steal from the latest experiential stores, read this]
Planning your own experiential retail project and need some help? Drop us a note
and we�ll help you out.

For more on launching temporary retail stores and one-off events, download our
Ultimate Pop-Up Guide and make your ideas happen.