Retailers are constantly trying out new ideas for attracting shoppers. Even seemingly foundational designs might get questioned, if the retailer is serious about staying ahead of the game, being innovative, and ensuring it is sufficiently interesting to consumers. Consider some examples.

Visitors to IKEA know what to expect, every single time: a massive space, with a maze-like layout, which they wend their way through over the course of a lengthy shopping trip, and then finish up with a snack of Swedish meatballs. But a new concept store in Shanghai, similar to an existing one in Poland, instead is built to allow shoppers to find lounge spaces where can hang out on the furniture. In workshop spaces, they encounter staffers who can offer a quick assembly tutorial or assistance with repairing a broken piece of furniture that the consumer already owns. The easy-to-find work and lounge spaces do not direct them along any particular path, and the restaurant highlight sustainable food choices.

This leisurely design joins another IKEA concept, being tested in a few regions, that embraces small spaces. In cities like Vienna and London, as well as New York City’s Queens borough, locations that are about half the size of traditional IKEA stores specialize in décor and furniture for small homes. On the Upper East Side of New York, a pilot store instead offers a planning space, where nothing is actually for sale, but customers can walk through to get design ideas and assistance.

Best Buy also is trying out some non-purchase spaces, leveraging its existing distribution centers to establish backdrops for staffers who interact with shoppers virtually. These expert staffers can walk around the distribution center to present various products to customers, who contact them for insights or advice. Thus the virtual link might enable shoppers to see insides of an appliance model, or the expert might detail all the steps and tools needed to install a new home security system. The retailer anticipates that customers would use this service both when they are at home, thinking about the purchases they need, and while in stores, where limited shelf space might not allow Best Buy to display every refrigerator model and dishwasher that customers might be considering buying.

Another Best Buy store also is experiential, though it allows people to come to the location. It is dedicated solely to gaming and tech gear. Located in Houston, the pilot store is staffed mainly by Geek Squad members, and it aims to attract dedicated gamers who want to try out every piece of high-end equipment before adding it to their at-home arsenal.

Experimenting with new store designs even might be a lifeline, as Toys ’R Us’s latest effort implies. The bankrupt toy store chain has been struggling to find a way back, and its new stores, installed within Macy’s locations, might offer a helpful bridge. Without any independent physical stores remaining in operation in the United States, the retailer has not been able to overcome its struggles. But by creating stores-within-stores, it can get its name and offerings back in front of shoppers. In turn, Macy’s anticipates sales increases for itself, because people who come to purchase gifts for their spouses or siblings also can find fun toys for the children in their lives.

Unlike the Best Buy or IKEA examples, the Toys ’R Us locations are planned for hundres of Macy’s stores, suggesting greater confidence in the likelihood of success. By the same token, stores-within-stores are not really novel designs, to the same extent as the concept stores being piloted by those other retailers are. Novelty aside though, the question remains: Which of these concepts will actually appeal to and attract shoppers?

Discussion Question:

1. Which of these concept stores do you believe is likely to succeed?
2. Which ones would you be likely to try, as a customer?
3. Do your answers to these questions differ? Why?

Source: Matthew Stern, “Can IKEA’s Store Layout Still Amaze without a Maze?” Retail Wire, August 30, 2021; Matthew Stern, “Best Buy Builds a Virtual Store to Assist Customers Remotely,” Retail Wire, August 31, 2021; Dave Sebastian, “Toys ‘R’ Us to Open Shops Inside More than 400 Macy’s Locations in 2022,” The Wall Street Journal, August 19, 2021