At a former clothing store in Santa Monica, the young entrepreneur lives in Tiktok. Fans and customers can walk on a floor that was once filled with trendy women’s apparel racks, see them working, and perhaps buy some of their products.
Nearby, people play miniature golf at their former food court. There, holes are designed as a small movie set. It is purposefully made for Instagram to boost your customers’ social media feed. Children’s putts during the day. After it gets dark, cocktails are played for the date crowd and the karaoke lounge gets busy.
Along the way, pickleball volleys pop out of vintage storefronts from the 1960s, when shoe dealer Adidas took over.
Jayna Elizabeth sells her products to viewers for sweet sweat on Live Tiktok at Outlandish on the Third Street Promenade.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
The shift from a store where customers were passive consumers to a place to participate in action reflects the change in shopping habits brought about by the Internet and the growing desire for shared experiences among many young people.
Bay Area retail consultant David Greensfelder said memories of uneasy confinement and forced distances also participate in the trend.
“When we finally got out of our collective timeout corner, we really wanted to do it,” he said. “Generally speaking, we still really want to do it.”
The concept of “experienced retail” known in the real estate business is almost nothing new. For example, in the 1970s, Chuck E. Cheese food and arcade games and families started playing instead of just eating.
However, recent growth in experiential retail combines the desire of people for positive experiences with the need to fill the attractive space of landlords. The mall has struggled for decades as department stores merged and lost their favor. The pandemic only accelerated the trend of shopping and buying from home. Spectacles are one way to show up directly to people and perhaps patronize other businesses.
General Manager Simon Wicker stands within Holy Molly, a miniature golf course with golf holes, bars and karaoke rooms.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
In Santa Monica, Santa Street Promenade and Santa Monica Place Shopping destinations are tactics that have been striving to attract customers in recent years. Among the challenges of the promenade is its scale. Very large stores in malls can be difficult to fill the era when many major retailers are cutting their footprint.
The landlord shows an appetite to try tenants who may have once been deemed unlooking.
“We’re excited to announce that we’re a sought-after business,” said Andrew Tomouth, CEO of Downtown Santa Monica, a private, nonprofit organization that promotes the city’s business districts.
Young entrepreneurs stand in a small booth and live in Tiktoku, where their products are in Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Pickle Pop, where players can book court time at the former Adidas Store, is available in select sports clubs, clothing retailers, and some restaurants. Such a hybrid approach could drive more business. Located on 4th Avenue near the Promenade, Splatter Studio is a part-bar and part-art studio. The customer’s suitability for coveralls is to paint a messy “masterpiece” on the canvas when absorbing.
The group activities proved attractive, Thomas said.
“A lot of people want more experiences at fun and exciting destinations,” he said. “You can do and enjoy what they can and get on Instagram and have fun with your friends.”
The mini golf centre, Holy Morley Golf Club, also offers a restaurant, cocktail bar and karaoke lounge. All elements are intended to participate and participate in what General Manager Simon Wicker calls “competitive socialisation.” The 27 holes are small, but are exquisitely decorated, nodding to the nostalgia of the 1980s and 1990s.
The venue is a “multi-sensory maze” with neon signs with cocky slogans and hand-painted murals, he said. After 8pm, only adults can play, DJs and walk magicians will perform on weekend nights. Cocktails are served in ceramic unicorns and miniature bathtubs.
Young people play miniature golf on Holy Molly on courses where all holes are “Instagramable”.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Social media is a key driver of Outlandish, a tictoc content factory where creators are hired and trained to sell products such as dietary supplements, clothing, workout gear, and gum. The brand will rent a booth from Outlandsh. Customers can purchase what creators are selling their products to online audiences with enthusiastic pitching and selling them.
Outlandish’s goal is to combine “the excitement of live, interactive shopping with the personal connections of in-store visits,” said CEO William August.
“We have the ability to bring world-renowned brands to our customers and visitors in Los Angeles,” he said. “That local audience can step into their livestream and interact with audiences from around the world.”
Companies are experimenting with experience retail in multiple formats, said Lee Shapiro, a real estate broker at Kennedy Wilson, who specializes in selling and leasing retail properties.
A few years ago, many people were aiming to become families with children, such as indoor trampoline parks and Chuck E. Cheese. Now, owners are chasing adults with concepts such as Holy Molly and Punch Bowl Social, combining nostalgic entertainment such as billiards, bowling, darts and arcade games with food and drink.
Audiences watch an immersive show experience at COSM in Inglewood.
(Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times)
Inglewood’s Hollywood Park Retail Center hosts COSM. Cosm features gorgeous stadium seating and a wraparound screen with 87 feet diameter wraparound screen with lifelike resolution that acquired the vibe of Las Vegas Sphere opened last year.
The venue focused on entertainment and sports gives viewers the feeling of being in the best seats at events such as Cirque Du Soleil, NBA basketball, and the World Series. COSM has its own production team that allows you to shoot events from 10 different bandages and provide a network feed to virtual screens in the corner.
For example, millions of audiences were watching Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of the World Series from Fox’s angle, while COSM crowds experienced it from the seats behind the plates at Dodger Stadium.
COSM’s response was “pandemonium,” said COSM chief executive Jeb Terry.
Other experiential attractions use virtual reality, including an exhibit about the Titanic that will be coming to Los Angeles’ Beverly Center Mall in March. Visitors wearing headsets will effectively descend to see the infamous shipwrecks that exist today, appearing to return to 1912 before the ship sinks and wanders around public spaces such as spectacular staircases, dining rooms and bustling decks.
Warner Center’s Topanga Village Mall allows people with VR gear on their heads and bodies to fight virtual zombies and other attackers, or compete with each other in “squid games” simulations in Sandbox VR.
Young people are driving a trend towards active participation, Greenfelder said.
“In Gen Z, you actually see a huge desire to have a first-hand experience again,” he said. “They’re back at the mall.”
For social media users such as Tiktok, “I don’t think it’s a bit surprising that this cohort is very empirically driven, in contrast to the material ones. They also want to make the experiences directly.”
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