IADS Exclusive- Business Case #10: Situ Live and B8ta Experience through showrooming

Many experts were predicting a retail apocalypse, but no such thing happened. Although it’s true that the retail cursor is increasingly adjusting between physical and online channels, retail as a whole is also going through a major transformation, more and more developing omnichannel solutions and in-store experiences. Showrooming is an option to develop experience, and this has even become the very purpose of some retailers. 

It’s especially accurate with Situ Live, launched in London in 2021, and with B8ta, a US company operating since 2015. Both their approaches to retail have a lot in common. The brands featured in their respective stores are oriented towards innovation. The focus is put on product’s added-values and on an immersive shopping experience. Both companies are advocating for a radical change in what physical retail should offer to consumers. Even though the term ‘phygital’ has been overused, Situ Live and B8ta are a fair expression of what it can be, as they are stores, show rooms, and IRL websites at the same time. What is interesting to know about these retailers? What can department stores learn from them? 
 

IADS provides its members with a weekly in-depth analysis on retail-oriented topics. This is an example of the themes the Association regularly addresses, and the topic of an article from the IADS members-only newsletter date 16 February 2022.