adidas beijing store immerses shoppers in 'phygital' installations

adidas sanlitun flagship store redefines the shopping experience

While online retail becomes an accepted norm with more and more consumers preferring to shop from the comfort of their homes, YSP and OUTPUT consider how brands can begin to lure consumers back in store. Their solution is an immersive and interactive bridge between virtual and physical realities, past and present, to curate a customized exhibition-like experience. Revamping Adidas’ Sanlitun global flagship store in Beijing, China, with a brand new identity, the design team creates a series of multi-sensory ‘phygital’ installations for an entertaining yet inclusive experience.

From a giant interactive cube with a lottery to buy limited-edition products, to a digital sound garden where with the help of AR visitors can dance with avatars in their own music video, to a digital art exhibition connecting virtual and offline communities — each experience is embedded with Adidas’ core brand values and fosters inclusivity.

YSP completes Adidas Sanlitun Flagship Store in Beijing | all images courtesy YSP

ysp calls for in-store shopping with multi-sensory installations

YSP design a series of interactive installations that are not only informative and entertaining, but also help to build a channel for Adidas to directly communicate with their consumers and understand their needs by co-creating something new. The multimedia Sound Garden experience, with a focus on Adidas’ urban culture, invites visitors to create a personalized music video with the brand through a comprehensive sensory experience.

Here, in real-time visitors can dance alongside an avatar on screen to create their own unique music video. As they dance to the beats created by background music, the avatar on screen reflects their movements to produce the album cover and video. In the audio area, the design team includes two options for recording an individual soundtrack, which includes a human voice or a robotic arm that plays an Adidas product as an instrument. As the music plays, the robotic arm hits a sneaker and waves a bag to mimic a drum and sandbag, and pulls a zip to enhance the soundtrack. As the beat thumps, the light dances alongside it.

Hype: an LED cube displays eye-catching brand visuals

For a more interactive shopping experience that reinterprets standard linear and constrained commercial displays, YSP integrates a giant ‘4D’ LED cube surrounded by futuristic display cabinet vessels. The multi-sensory Hype display combines digital experience, products, space, and time. Along the cube’s surfaces, brand visuals and products are displayed on loop, meanwhile the surrounding capsules showcase limited-edition products, which visitors can vote on for a chance to buy the exclusive goods.

The final Talk of the Town digital art display bridges a portal between reality and virtual, fostering connection between Adidas’ online communities and offline activities. Shaped like an immersive gallery exhibition, walls of screens integrated with interactive AR experiences activate all the mark-ups on the map to show where Adidas events are taking place around Beijing. Visitors can explore the map and find an activity to join.

each capsule displays limited-edition products and screens for voting