Shopping in the third millennium

We are all curious about how we may shop in the future: consumers, because we are interested in shopping experiences, and retailers, because we want to know what awaits us. Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche in Paris is offering some insights. In its “Geek mais chic” exhibition, the city’s oldest department store (founded in 1852) is showcasing the kinds of ingenuity we can expect of brick-and-mortar retailers in the future. The exhibition is set to run there until 22 April 2019 – welcome to the third millennium!

The department store has catapulted its shopping paradise into the future together with more than 80 international brand manufacturers of fashion, beauty and lifestyle products. The exhibition showcases digital innovation and technically sophisticated sensory product presentations. It invites customers to immerse themselves in interactive product experiences and to personalise products themselves.

[Translate to English:] Geek mais chic

Playing truant

Virtual applications transport customers to other worlds. They can experience the thrill of crossing the desert on a virtual motorbike with IWC, act in a Delvaux film or paint an XXL digital face using the Ralph Lauren Polo Digital Lab. Digital technology puts adventurers in the thick of the action.

Applied beauty

In the future, customers will create their own perfumes, make-up and skincare products. How does your very own personal fragrance sound? At Guerlain, consumers can compose a perfume by playing on a digital organ. And everyone can find the shade of blush that perfectly complements their skin tone, down to the pixel, with La Bouge Rouge. After all, there is an artist inside every customer.

A personalised message

There are no limits to our imagination. People can display their individual creativity through customised products such as Levi’s t-shirts, Atelier Amelot tote bags and iconic Tod’s moccasins. At the end of the day, product personalisation is the digital era’s answer to the growing desire for individuality.

The “Geek mais chic” exhibition shows that shopping is primed to become an experience wherever retailers and manufacturers combine their efforts. After all, the more immersive the product presentation, the deeper the customer is drawn into the experience.

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