design:retail - October 2017 - 14

on trend

014

The Living
Lab

F YOU'RE LOOKING for a sense of community, a curated eye and a sophisticated
experience, then you've just envisioned
In Real Life-or IRL-a hybrid, brick-andmortar store offering an immersive
shopping experience. Developed by Chicago-based
mall operator General Growth Properties (GGP),
the IRL store encourages touch, learning and
discovery of digital native brands, and debuted at
Chicago's Water Tower Place in early August.
"This is about a holistic experience of home and
how these products can live in your life," explains
Melissa Gonzalez, chief pop-up architect and
founder of The Lionesque Group, the NYC-based retail format pioneer agency. The company partnered
with GGP and Impinj, which makes RFID software.
"Mall operators and property owners are a lot more
open minded for creative ways to develop relationships with brands and host them in their spaces,"
she adds.
IRL has reimagined the store experience by taking the pop-up store to the next level and creating
an in-person program around it. The store even offers a lobster bar and pastry coffee bar.
The space hosts rotating collections of digitally
native brands organized around themes that change
every few months. The first theme is home and living, and a health and wellness theme will debut
in the beginning of 2018. Contemporary furniture
Elko Hardwoods, Get It Right silicone kitchen tools,
online art gallery UGallery, Killerspin's table tennis
tables and WaterRower's indoor rowing machine
are a few of the e-commerce brands and products
participating. Leesa, the direct-to-consumer mattress company, is staged in the bedroom, offering a
VR in-store experience featuring its spokesperson
Michael Phelps.
"[These brands] are all complimentary to one
another and help inspire how people can decorate
their homes," Gonzalez says. "We wanted to create
a community environment around the brands and

OCTOBER 2017

DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM

encourage them to cross market." The experiential
aspect is important for consumers, allowing them
to feel confident in purchasing. Plus all brands
offer drop-ship since the physical store does not
house inventory.
The store, which embodies a warm earthy feel,
is equipped with digital displays for customers to learn specific facts about companies and
items. Upon arrival, consumers are handed a key
equipped with an RFID chip to monitor shopping
habits. Participating companies have access to the
data collected through the key. They also receive
insight such as engagement levels and customer
preferences gathered through Impinj's Field-Test
technology integrated throughout the store.
"Digital brands understand there is a need and
validity for brick and mortar, but it's not just about
a transactional location," says Gonzalez. "At the end
of the day, brands get to build mind share with these
customers because they are staying longer than average at our store and interacting with products in
different ways. That's the traction."
- Lola Thélin

GLOBALSHOP.ORG

Photos courtesy of GGP, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE LIONESQUE GROUP

http://www.DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM http://www.GLOBALSHOP.ORG

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of design:retail - October 2017