The Short Version

• The $132 billion experiential retail market is projected to more than quadruple by 2035 as brands and landlords invest in immersive experiences.
• Retailtainment can range from subtle design touches to large-scale events, with elements like live performances, gamification and brand partnerships.
• Partners’ Steve Triolet describes retailtainment as being in its “honeymoon phase,” though some concepts risk oversaturation.
• Walmart will host a 12-stop Nitro Circus and Dickies tour featuring BMX stunts, live music and interactive experiences to drive store traffic.
• Landlords like PREIT report significant traffic and dwell time gains from retailtainment, with some retailers seeking proximity to these attractions.
• Experts say best-in-class retailtainment formats will endure while others fade, with top-tier malls leading the way in experiential offerings.

Inside Retailtainment’s Surge and What Comes Next

The market for retailtainment, a fusion of retail and entertainment, is exploding, from pop-up brand-partnership activations to experiential stores to competitive socializing.

The experiential retail market alone is valued at $132 billion for 2025, according to Metatech Insights. The firm — which defines the sector as immersive brand experiences, product sampling, in-store events, interactive displays, virtual and augmented reality experiences and gamified retail experiences — expects the value of the experiential market to reach $543.45 billion by 2035.

As described by audiovisual consulting company CrownTV, retailtainment “can manifest itself in a variety of ways, from subtle touches to grand spectacles.” Elements can include experiential design, live events and performances, gamification, personalization and partnerships, according to the digital signage company.

Why Experience-Driven Shopping Is in a “Honeymoon Phase”

Today, retailtainment is in its “honeymoon phase,” said Partners senior vice president of research and market forecasting Steve Triolet, and “should pick up more steam in the next couple of years.” It isn’t a fad, he said, but some formats will come and go or shrink their footprints as consumers grow tired of certain concepts and retailers continue pursuing traffic drivers. He warned that some segments, such as pickleball, are opening units too aggressively.

From Stunts to Storytelling: Events and Concepts Drawing Shoppers

The Nitro Circus action sports entertainment company and the Dickies apparel brand are bringing a retailtainment concept to Walmart stores. On Aug. 29, Nitro Circus and Dickies will kick off a 12-stop tour of Walmart stores in California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. At each stop, seven BMX cyclists from Nitro Circus will entertain attendees with “insane tricks” and “jaw-dropping stunts” during a free 90-minute show. Nitro Circus riders will wear Dickies clothing, and the campaign will feature BMX rider Ryan Williams, who is a brand ambassador for Dickies. The apparel company’s director of marketing for strategic accounts, Brent Futagaki, said it will offer free giveaways and a customization station at each stop.

The tour also will feature live music and barbecue. Nitro Circus said this tour builds on the success of its 2020 drive-in tour of Walmart stores but that this time around, it will be “a more immersive, festival-style event to get fans closer to the action.”

The tour also will benefit Walmart, said Nitro Circus senior vice president and general manager Ricky Melnik: “With our combined social media following of over 30 million across North America, we have a unique opportunity to drive meaningful awareness and engagement for Walmart. Our goal is to leverage this reach to build deeper brand connections, amplify key campaigns and ultimately drive measurable foot traffic and sales back into Walmart stores.”

Other brands are making their mark with these experiential concepts:

• Footwear brand Crocs recently opened a Crocs Icon store in New York City. The 4,000-square-foot store features immersive storytelling and hosts shopping events to create “experiential theater” for Crocs devotees, WWD reported.

• Clothing brand Louis Vuitton is working on a “never seen before” retailtainment concept along Paris’ famed Champs-Élysées, CEO Pietro Beccari told Vogue Italia. He said retailtainment “represents the future of retail,” delivering a mix of products, brands, experiences and culture.

• In the first half of 2026, Build-A-Bear Workshop plans to open a new concept at the 20-acre Icon Park entertainment and retail complex in the tourist hot spot of Orlando. “By reimagining its already engaging, destination-based retail concept with evolved, interactive and personalized elements, Build-A-Bear expects to both surprise and delight guests,” according to Icon Park.

• Netflix House will deliver “immersive story-driven experiences” alongside activities like miniature golf and virtual reality games, at Galleria Dallas and King of Prussia mall outside Philadelphia this year and at BLVD Las Vegas in 2027.

FROM THE ICSC SMALL BUSINESS CENTER: Q&A with Build-A-Bear Workshop Founder Maxine Clark

How Immersive Experiences Drive Traffic and Sales

Retailers and landlords alike entertain the idea of retailtainment because it holds the potential to draw more shoppers. Research from digital signage software provider AIScreen indicates retailtainment lifts store visits and sales by 30%. Retail consulting firm DMSRetail said other advantages include enhanced customer loyalty and thus repeat visits, brand differentiation and word of mouth through social media posts and online reviews.

A PREIT spokesperson said retailtainment concepts represent 17% of the tenants at its 17 malls and three power centers. That includes a Dick’s House of Sport at New Jersey’s Cherry Hill Mall that will sell sports apparel and offer interactive sports activities; the Tilted 10 entertainment and dining destination at Pennsylvania’s Willow Grove Park mall; and Legoland Discovery Centers at Pennsylvania’s Plymouth Meeting Mall and Virginia’s Springfield Town Center.

PREIT executive vice president and chief revenue officer Joe Aristone, who heads leasing for the company, said adding retailtainment at a PREIT property broadens its appeal to consumers from a wider trade area. PREIT properties with retailtainment concepts are witnessing a 25% uptick in visits and a 22% jump in dwell times, Aristone said. This also benefits other tenants, he said. In fact, he added, some traditional retailers want to cluster around retailtainment locations that align with their customer base.

Which Retailtainment Formats Will Have Staying Power

As for the future of retailtainment, Aristone said best-in-class concepts will survive over the long haul while less-enticing concepts will wither. “I think you’re going to see developers lean in [to retailtainment] more than they are now,” he said. “You really want to create the best placemaking you can possibly have at a … particular asset.”

Vince Tibone, a managing director leading mall and industrial research for Green Street, said that among malls, Class A properties are investing most heavily in experiential offerings as consumers come to expect them. “The top properties, especially in the larger markets with a lot of competition, have to stay relevant,” said Tibone. “And if their competitors are doing things [like retailtainment], they have to keep up and keep the consumer dollars flowing through their doors.”

Stores might host short-term activations like holiday villages, for example, he said. Over the long term, Tibone expects retailtainment to be a fixture at malls as landlords seek to diversify their tenants. But, he added, “they may not be the exact same banners you see today.”