Modern shopping is a blend of digital and in-person experiences – from online stores and social media to in-person events and bricks-and-mortar high streets. Combining the two in one place for a multi- or omni-channel retail strategy could create an entirely new experience for consumers – and, with rapid developments in modern technology, it opens the door to a multitude of opportunities in the future.
In fact, not only could combining in-person and digital spaces impact the retail industry, but it could be revolutionary across the board. This is something that has already been taken advantage of by the iGaming sector, which expanded into the digital space by taking classic games like poker, blackjack, and roulette online. With Paddy Power’s online roulette games, there is a blend between in-person and virtual worlds that offer a unique and enhanced experience than what just one or the other would provide. Players can play live games in real-time, with a real roulette wheel, and interact with real dealers and croupiers, but with the added benefit of being able to do so from any device with internet connectivity.
What this highlights is an opportunity for the retail industry that is waiting to be grabbed – combining physical stores and digital technology to provide enhanced or brand-new and innovative customer experiences. And, a brand that is leading the pack is Gymshark.
The prominent British activewear retailer has been a mainstay of ecommerce for a decade – firstly starting out by drop shipping bodybuilding supplements online, before branching out into designing and producing its own line of activewear on a made-to-sell basis. By 2016, Gymshark was labelled the fastest growing company in the UK – and, in 2020 was named the UK’s fastest-growing fashion brand globally, boasting an average increase in international sales of 115.7% over the previous two years.
Today, Gymshark sells its fitness apparel direct-to-customer in almost 200 countries, and has translated its website into 13 languages to support its international growth. Though its initial birth and growth has been completed online, Gymshark opened its first ever physical store in October 2022 – almost a decade after the company was first founded. To highlight the success of the company, its flagship store is located on London’s prime shopping street – Regent Street.
This innovative flagship store is where Gymshark effortlessly incorporates its trusty digital technologies into a physical, in-person experience – its aim is to not only sell its clothing, but also allow the community to experience the essence of Gymshark. In addition to traditional clothing rails, the store boasts a fitness studio, or ‘The Sweat Room’, the fitness answer to Apple’s ‘Genius Bar’ called ‘The Pro Bench’, a Joe & The Juice concession, and a multipurpose area known as ‘The Hub’.
On the first floor, The Hub is set aside for Gymshark members to record podcasts, host panels and live streams, attend workshops, and enjoy screenings. The area benefits from a neutral backdrop, bright lighting, and projectors that are purpose-designed for content creators, fitness professionals, and podcasters to create and share digital content and host hybrid events.
In doing so, the store has managed to blend online and offline retail, producing a wholly unique customer experience that merges digital and in-person experiences, and gives Gymshark the opportunity to market its bricks-and-mortar store through digital content filmed within its walls.
