The Polette store’s 88 light-up piano key shelves and mirrors bring buyers together, while an upside-down grand piano ceiling light continues the musical theme. Image © polette photography team
When lockdowns first hit and retailers were forced to shut up shop, many took to the digital high street instead, with those investing hardest and quickest in their online personas invariably winning the battle for our bookmarks. As the world opened again, some kept both their physical and digital presence in a hybrid model, while others chose to remove themselves from bricks and mortar altogether.
As we become more accustomed to using both models together, it’s clear that physical retail spaces can offer sensorial experiences that the digital simply can not – yet. These four projects buck the online retail trend and encourage consumers – and therefore other retailers, too – to move back into the physical, by turning the act of shopping into an exciting, invigorating, or relaxing luxury pastime, rather than a chore.
