We are all aware of ‘creating spaces’. For many years now, we have been creating them in our centres. However, there’s a new trend emerging – ‘Creating Connections’. Some top retailers are exploring the phenomenon.

As a further segway to my previous articles on place and biophilic design, retailers are also jumping into creating community connections. Connections are created if an attachment can be made to a place. The place needs to be meaningful for attachment to occur and attachment is an emotional bond with a place. If connection or attachment is made, people will then return time and time again.

Foot Locker introduced its new power store format earlier this year in London, Liverpool, Hong Kong and, more recently, Michigan in the US. The stores are intended to function as a local hub for sneaker culture, art, music and sports. The new Michigan store houses an activation space for hosting events and includes a women’s shop-in-shop, a kids’ section and accessories for men.

Frank Bracken, VP and GM of Foot Locker said in a statement:

“It’s our goal at Foot Locker to bring the excitement of sneaker culture to local communities around the world. We are focused on creating immersive brand connections that are authentically tied to the neighbourhoods they serve.”

In the ‘Experience Zone’ a house of hoops concept celebrates basketball culture with offerings of premium sneaker selection from Nike and Jordan and customers can also expect product storytelling from both Adidas and Puma.

Foot Locker’s power store format focuses on creating immersive brand connections

While sneakers aren’t quite my thing, there are avid collectors who own upwards of 500 pairs and trade them. In fact, one of the US traders, Nick Wilkins, turned collecting and trading sneakers into a business via a site Stickx, it was reported in a recent Sydney Morning Herald article.

Nick’s hobby took off and he expects to move more than 10,000 pairs of shoes at AUD$1.4 million in sales this year.

US sofa online start-up Burrows, that sells American-made sofas with a mid-century modern aesthetic opened its first bricks-and-mortar store in Soho, New York City named Burrow House. Visitors can hang out in front of a fireplace, watch movies in a private screening room and also play around with making their own videos in a green screen studio, all before buying a couch.

For years, we have been hearing about stores shutting down because customers prefer shopping online. Creating that true customer connection means you have to have a physical store, which is good news for all retail centres.

Another US retailer creating a community connection is the Museum of Ice Cream. Since opening its first store in New York last year followed by Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco, the experience-heavy store has seen more than one million visitors and social media followers in excess of three million. Stores are filled with colourful sensory driven installations that encourage customers to interact with the space and the staff.

It’s an immersive experience that draws in visitors with childlike fascination. The Museum of Ice Cream was born under the premise that ice cream is a universal symbol of joy, a personal pleasure and a transportive vehicle for anyone’s imagination says its website. Products sold include ice cream, chocolates, apparel, toys, accessories and food.

Another retailer is BarkBox in the growing pet retail market founded in 2012 with more than 500,000 subscribers and a 95% customer retention rate. Co-founder Henrick Werdelin said: “We stumbled into this change in the world where dogs are no longer considered pets that lie outside in the garden, but these are now part of our family.”

BarkBox’s model taps into the canine connection

US research indicates that 82% of millennials think of getting a dog as part of starting a family. They are now fur children sitting in the lounge room and lying in our beds.

The same US study showed that $14.71 billion US dollars was spent on accessories like collars, toys and beds alone and 92% of millennial pet owners regularly bought their prized pooch a gift each month. Dog food isn’t dog food anymore, its gluten free, grain free, raw, or human grade. BarkBox’s model is tapping the canine connection and a lot more than just the propensity to overspend on pets.

Behind the squeaky toys and stuffed ducks there’s science at work ensuring the customer’s pet gets toys that match its play style. They have actually segmented dogs and their owners into different categories, depending on what type of dog it is and how they like to play. Werdelin says their first stakeholder is the dog and creating something that makes them happier. He says they spend a lot of time figuring out the squeakers, use of material and understanding how dogs play. This all creates a personalised shopping experience and connection.

Speaking of creating an experience and connecting, Event Cinemas has announced the launch of a new concept called Event Boutique at its George Street Sydney flagship. This new addition will be rolled out in select locations in Australia and New Zealand.

Event Boutique draws on the rich heritage of the State Theatre and QT Hotel in Market Street, Sydney. The mix of iconic status and quirkiness will deliver a bespoke and boutique cinema experience.

The offering includes a host greeting 30 minutes prior to screening, reclining seats with footrest and a menu designed in collaboration with Sonoma Bakery and Vic’s Meats providing a premium in cinema dining experience. Two cinemas aptly named Paparazzi and Library inspired by Andy Warhol’s 15 minutes of fame and homage to storytelling have just opened. Both venues can be booked for private events.

The House of Vans in London certainly lives up to the company motto of ‘off the wall’, a location where music, art, street culture and fashion all converge.

In the 3,000m2 store you have a cinema, café, live music venue, art gallery and a unique feature concrete BMX/skate ramp. Designed by skaters for skaters, the skate park is free and has specific sessions for BMX and skate users. Creating a space where young people can hang out, connect and interact, the House of Vans is a good example of the creating experience and connection equation.

So using the real estate mantra of “location, location, location” retail’s mantra should be “connection, connection, connection”.