The shop of the future

Challenge

COVID-19 has further accelerated a trend that was already underway before the pandemic hit: e-commerce. Purchases of both services and physical goods have increased during the pandemic, and compared to other EU countries, Denmark is at the top when it comes to online shopping.1/2 This development brings into question the future of physical stores. However, in the retail sector, some argue that there is no contradiction between offline and online. Rather, the trade of the future should be seen as a relationship between “marketing channels” and ”sales channels” – where the online store sells the product, while the physical store offers an experience.3/4

Solution

In Japan’s capital, Tokyo, a store has opened which is more theatre than sale of goods. ‘Playhouse’ opened in the fall of 2020, while the COVID-19 pandemic – and bankruptcies –raged, and the future of physical retail was being questioned. The architects behind the store call the project an exploration of the future of physical retail – in a world in which e-commerce and COVID-19 have to be considered a continuous presence. The answer is a rethinking of the purpose and the architecture of the physical store. The new Playhouse is designed as a flexible setting that can accommodate varying types of events, from fashion shows to lectures and theatre performances. It is, in fact, theatre that has provided the inspiration for the store’s interior design. Whereas the traditional store exhibits and sells goods, the store of the future is a scenographic setting for the consumer experience. And just like in the theatre, the stage can be changed as needed with the use of mobile walls and curtains to create different experiences.

The example shows how COVID-19 has added an extra dimension to the question of the future of physical stores. Although the ’sales channels’ are becoming digital, there are many indications that the role of the store has not been played out, and with Playhouse we may be looking at elements of the shopping experience of the future.

Taxonomy

Sphere: Trade/Service

Timescale: Long Term

Type: Building Intervention, Interior Design, Graphic Application

User Group: Employees/Service Providers, Customers/Users

The Playhouse is inspired by the theatre’s scenography

The interior is flexible and can support different uses of the space

Project and location: Social Harmony Installation, Yokohama, Japan

Contributor: NOSIGNER

Established: November 2020