Skip to content
‹ Back to IndustriesRetail

The Resurgence of Brick-and-Mortar Stores: One-of-a-kind Shopping Experiences Are Turning Customers into Brand Ambassadors

Retailers are reviving the appeal of brick-and-mortar stores by creating unique in-store experiences that encourage customers to share and promote them online. This approach not only revitalizes physical shopping but also turns engaged customers into advocates for the brand, leveraging organic marketing. The strategic design of these memorable moments helps draw more foot traffic to stores.

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Retail teams put it to work with Sales Enablement.

By Allen Adamson · · Allen AdamsonExperts TalkMetaforcePeerless-av
Share

Key takeaways

01

Brick-and-mortar stores are making a comeback through unique shopping experiences.

02

Retailers are leveraging customers' online sharing to promote their brands.

03

In-store experiences are strategically designed to increase customer engagement.

Free workspace

Turn your Retail expertise into content.

Record interviews, organize footage, and write with AI on a free trial of the MarketScale platform for qualifying companies. No demo required, no credit card.

Try it Free

In the convenient world of e-commerce, big box stores are seeing a resurgence. Chains like Dick's Sporting Goods, Walmart, and Target are experimenting with one-of-a-kind shopping experiences that can turn casual shoppers into loyal fans.

In a recent Experts Talk roundtable, Allen Adamson, Co-Founder at Metaforce, highlighted how one-of-a-kind shopping experiences make for exciting posts on social media, transforming customers into enthusiastic brand ambassadors.

No one ever shares ordinary on social media… You're more likely to be in Target and your kids are climbing on the bins. You might share that. You might see something you forgot to 'Oh, I didn't even know we need a dog bed'. So it's much more real, much more lifelike, and consumers are gravitating back to that real experience even though, they have to be cognizant that they have to be super-efficient because it's always easier to double click from your phone or at home.
— Allen Adamson, Co-Founder at Metaforce

Video TranscriptExpand ↓

People wanna live in the real world. They don't wanna live in the virtual world. But the other big piece is social media is the most important marketing tool, and no one ever shares ordinary in social media. No one says, here I am shopping on Amazon. Watch me double click. So you're more likely to be in Target and your kids are climbing on the bins. You might share that. You might see something you forgot to oh, I didn't even know we need a dog bed. So it's it's much more real, much more lifelike, and consumers are gravitating back to that real experience even though, they have to be cognizant that they have to be super efficient because it's always easier to double click from your phone or at home.

Your experts belong here

Every story in MarketScale Retail starts with a company putting its merchandising leads, store operations teams, and category managers on the record. Buyers are already reading this topic. The only question is whose experts they find.

Category buyers trust operators, so your merchandising leads shorten the distance between first search and first call.

Book DemoSee how it works15 minutes, straight to a calendar.

About the author

AA
Allen Adamson
B2B Weekly

The week in Retail, and sixteen other industries, every Monday.

Ten stories, one-line takes, five minutes. Free.

Retail: are you visible to AI?

Before they reach out, Retail buyers ask AI engines which vendors to trust. Explore how your experts, customers, and partners can become useful content for buyers and AI search.

Free Trial

You just read one Retail expert. Your company is full of them.

This article was produced through MarketScale. The same platform turns your merchandising leads, store operations teams, and category managers into the articles, video, and social content Retail buyers are searching for. Start a free trial and see it with your own people. For qualifying companies, no credit card, no demo required.

NPS +73 · 1,000+ creators · 38+ countries

What your free trial includes

Hands-on access to the MarketScale platform
Media requests to your crowd, remote recording, AI writing tools
No demo required. No credit card.
For qualifying companies. Company confirmation required.

More Retail Insights

Hackers hit supermarket fridges across Europe again, three weeks after France

Hackers hit supermarket fridges across Europe again, three weeks after France

Grocery stores in at least nine European countries reported fridges and freezers pushed to warm temperatures overnight on November 2, three weeks after a similar attack hit hundreds of French supermarkets. Delhaize, Carrefour Belgium, Coop Sweden and SuperValu confirmed affected stores, ICA and SuperValu stores discarded or pulled chilled and frozen stock, and Belgian prosecutors opened an investigation. Danfoss said its refrigeration controllers were involved again, and Censys counts just over 1,000 of its StoreView interfaces still reachable from the internet. Nobody has claimed responsibility, and officials have not said whether the two waves are connected.

  • 01AFP counted nine countries hit; SecurityWeek said 100+ stores; Danfoss said its controllers were involved again.
  • 02A Belgian refrigeration executive said attackers forced evaporators into defrost mode in the France wave, and Lupovis said most login attempts it saw against decoy Danfoss controllers used publicly documented factory default credentials.
  • 03CERT-FR and Greece's cybersecurity authority advise taking controllers off the public internet, using VPN access with multi-factor authentication, changing default passwords and replacing unsupported units.

Nov 3, 2026

Walmart commits roughly $6 billion to automate 25 US distribution centers with Symbotic

Walmart commits roughly $6 billion to automate 25 US distribution centers with Symbotic

Walmart and Symbotic expanded their partnership with a roughly $6 billion commitment to automate 25 US regional distribution centers over several years. Walmart says the move will help it offer a broader assortment, improve speed and provide more reliable restocking.

  • 01Walmart's roughly $6 billion Symbotic commitment will increase storage capacity at its regional distribution centers and support e-commerce upstream inventory management. Walmart says the goal is a broader assortment, more speed and more reliable replenishment.
  • 02The roughly $6 billion covers work over several years. The deal also leaves room for additional projects across Walmart's global supply chain beyond the 25 regional distribution centers.
  • 03Watch whether Walmart names the 25 sites or extends work outside the US. Either would show whether the model spreads network-wide.

Nov 3, 2026

Stores ring up most retail sales but earn 5% of retail media revenue

Stores ring up most retail sales but earn 5% of retail media revenue

E-commerce was 17.1% of US retail sales in Q2 2026, leaving most sales to physical stores, yet stores draw only about 5% of retail media revenue, Omdia estimates.

  • 0143% of US retail media buyers with active in-store budgets say they underuse them. They cite activation complexity and measurement limits, which Fingoweb argues sit in software and data.
  • 02In retail media, “inventory” can mean screen time or shelf stock. Networks that sell ads need visibility into both.

Nov 2, 2026

Explore More Retail Insights

Read more expert perspectives from across Retail.

Browse Retail Hub

About the Expert

AA
Allen Adamson

For B2B teams

Your experts could be publishing here

Stories like this one run on content MarketScale captures from real practitioners. See how your team's expertise becomes coverage in Retail and beyond.

Book a Demo

Or call us. No forms required. We pick up. 214-945-2512