For all the benefits of e-commerce, retailers recognise that people still value brick-and-mortar, leading some to craft unique in-store experiences. Canvas8 spoke to Steffen Jahn, assistant professor at the University of Goettingen, to learn how experiential retail impacts brand perceptions.

People are rarely without their phones while in stores, either using them to research products or simply distracted by their digital lives. To better capture shoppers’ attention, retailers are offering phone-charging facilities, to better engage them with their environment under the guise of providing a service.

Macy’s is reinvigorating the department store, by adding 36 Story shops with rotating inventories and curated themes that sell exclusive items. With the decline of the department store, and brand loyalty at an all-time low, the move is sparking much-needed emotional engagement in customers.

Conceived as an ‘homage to Millennials’, lifestyle store Riley Rose offers Instagram-worthy skin care alongside rainbow candy and chic homeware. But beyond its social media-friendly products and interior design, the brand represents a concerted effort to draw teens back to the shopping mall.