Many retail trends are making headlines and creating significant boardroom chatter: omni-channel, big data, digital marketing, mobile commerce. They are all shaping how we define retail today. These opportunities have one goal in common — creating immersive experiences, experiences that redefine how customers interact with brands. Immersive experiences are gaining attention and interest of marketers and designers, and this white paper defines what immersive experiences are, and why this engagement category is gaining such attention.
There is a pivotal moment when trends stop being referred to as “game changers” and become common practice, moving from the most talked about, landscape shaping factors to becoming the everyday fabric of the industry.
As a designer, I am on constant lookout for “the next thing” that will have a significant impact on how retailers provide deeper and more meaningful engagement within the physical retail environment. As I scan the retail landscape, I believe there is one trend that stands out above the rest, which has the momentum of a tsunami and the capacity to shape the future of how we shop, buy and interact with the built retail environment. This new trend is best described as “immersion” — a retail state where the barriers between the physical and virtual worlds disappear and become one. And the new technology and channel proliferation offer retailers the opportunity to move beyond brand engagement toward full immersion in a brand story.
