Retail’s Content Revolution: The In-Store Studio Trend

Walk into a retail store today, and chances are you’re walking onto a studio set. There’s a ring light in one corner, a branded selfie wall near the cash counter, and maybe even an influencer mid-transition, mouthing lyrics for the gram!

A retail space? Sure. But also a production house, a TikTok stage, and brand’s own content engine.

Let’s dive in to decode this growing shift and how retail brands are designing spaces, from high-street stores to their office headquarters, with content in mind.

Retail Stores x Content Creation = The New Retail Romance

Once built for footfall and conversion, retail spaces today are being designed for likes, loops, and livestreams.

From selfie-friendly lighting to modular setups perfect for reels, stores are no longer just a place to shop; they’re a stage. And it doesn’t stop at the storefront. Offices too, especially for D2C and digital-native brands, are morphing into content labs, where teams film founder-fronted drops, churn out BTS footage, and make campaign edits at record speed.

A study by Alter Agents found that 77% of Gen Z and millennial shoppers discover and buy directly on social platforms. So when you’ve got their undivided attention in-store, every square inch becomes prime real estate—for both product and content. And it also means that brands have seconds, literally - to impress, inspire, and convert.

What’s driving the shift? And what does it mean for retail?

The Rise of Retail Theatre: Shoppers want more than a static display zone; they want a moment. Whether it’s an AR powered immersive mirror, a VR demo zone, or just a well-lit fitting room, brands are designing environments that compound as production sets.

Digital Dominance: As online buying becomes default, physical stores are stepping into a new role - as brand playgrounds. Retail space is evolving as an event & activation hub—featuring styling sessions, creator meetups, immersive pop-ups, multi-brand activations and capsule drops, all tailored for social-first discovery. The more unexpected, the more shareable.

Content is King (cc: KPI): Great content is no longer an afterthought; it's a built-in metric. Spatial design is being optimised for filming - LED walls, moving fixtures, branded corners, and even store layouts that serve camera flow. From GRWMs to TikTok transitions—everything is shot-ready.

Influencers Everywhere, for Everything—Shaping Retail’s Real-World Buzz: Influencers aren’t just posting; they’re directing the flow of consumer attention. And increasingly, that spotlight is shifting offline. Retailers are curating in-store experiences with creators in mind - inviting them to shoot, style, and share right from the shop floor. These content-first collaborations don’t just boost visibility but also create familiarity. When shoppers see their favorite creators vibing with a brand IRL, it sparks trust, FOMO, and a whole lot of scroll-stopping content.

Community-Led, Creator-Fueled: It’s no longer just about what brands sell; it’s about who they co-create with. Retail is being rewired to include co-working lounges, networking events, creator residencies, and on-ground UGC activations that let customers move beyond a simple buy-and-go experience. These experiences build long-term brand love while giving content teams fresh and always-on material.

Inventory-Light, Impact-Heavy: More and more brands today are embracing showroom-style formats, allowing trial in-person and purchase online. Because why cram products when you can showcase them like a gallery? Bonus: minimal setups double as clean, versatile content backdrops.

So, long story short? This remix of brick-and-mortar retail isn’t just about chasing virality. It’s about reimagining retail spaces as dynamic, participatory environments where customers don’t just consume content; they create it.

Brands Turning Stores into Content-First Retail Studios

Retail stores are no longer just points of sale; they’re production sets, social stages, and community canvases. As brand storytelling shifts from polished campaigns to raw, real-time content, physical spaces are being reimagined for maximum creative output.

From pastel playgrounds to flex-friendly flagships, here are five brands leaning into the camera, transforming their retail square footage into content-ready ecosystems built for influence, engagement, and ROI:

A. Pottery Barn | Retail Store with Influencer Spotlight

In a campaign built for the gram but grounded in brick and mortar, the home-furnishing giant Pottery Barn invited nine influencers in with $500 shopping vouchers—and a creative brief: shop, style, and share it all. From browsing cushion covers to styling the perfect corner, the influencer-led in-store journey itself became the hero content.

This wasn’t just a one-off influencer day out activation. Pottery Barn layered on a sharp paid media strategy, using influencer-generated content to retarget engaged audiences and nudge them towards its website and physical stores. A final conversion push followed, targeting the most engaged customers to purchase.

The result? 9,087 link clicks, $50K+ in tracked purchases, and a phenomenal 1,297% ROAS.

In-store storytelling, made shoppable—and wildly scalable!

B. Gymshark | Flex, Film, Repeat at the Flagship

At Gymshark’s London Regent Street flagship, shopping is just the warm-up. The real workout? Content creation.

Podcast booths. Creator meetups. PT sessions. Community-led run clubs. Athlete-hosted events. Gymshark always has a little something going on.

Built to empower fitness creators to document their journey in real time, every square foot of the store space is optimised for UGC—from mirrors with motivational quotes to lighting that flatters post-lift selfies.

But it’s more than just aesthetics.

What truly sets Gymshark apart is its deep integration of influencer co-creation into the space itself. ‘The Hub’- an open-plan, multi-use space on the first floor overlooking Regent Street, is a hotspot for guest speakers, workshops, inspiring talks, and athlete meet and greets. Dedicated zones for filming, hosting, and sharing allow creators to showcase their expertise while seamlessly and simultaneously promoting the brand.

It’s retail reimagined—for reps, reels, and real-time community building.

C. Pretty Little Thing | A Pink Playground for Creators

In 2023, PrettyLittleThing unveiled its 4,375 sq. ft. London showroom—less of a traditional retail store, more of a content-first creator playground. Designed as an immersive brand hub for celebrities, influencers, stylists, and press, the space invites guests to try on looks, shoot content, and channel the PLT lifestyle from every corner.

Collaborating with production agency We Are Studio for the designs and TDK for the fit-out, the brand transformed the new space into an ‘on-brand pink haven’. The space includes a content room, photo studio, showroom, meeting rooms, office space, and a reception area. The offering also spans more than just apparel, with sections dedicated to PLT’s homeware, accessories, and cosmetics.

Following the success of similar launches in Paris, Miami, and Los Angeles, the London space reflects Pretty Little Thing's strategy to blend physical touchpoints with digital engagement, fostering a community-driven environment, boosting creator visibility, and amplifying the brand’s e-commerce dominance.

D. Haus Labs | Where Content meets Cult Status

In true Gaga fashion, Haus Labs By Lady Gaga didn’t just build a content studio; it built a stage for the future of beauty storytelling.

Launched in 2021 in Los Angeles, the 2,700 sq. ft. space started as an internal creative lab but quickly evolved into a full-blown culture hub with an incubator program supporting the broader creative community. In partnership with Klarna, the studio - dubbed "The Studio by Klarna x Haus Labs", now serves as both a hub for the brand's own campaigns and a resource for emerging creators through an invite-only Creator Collective.

Open more than 300 days a year, the space is a non-stop content engine, serving as the primary location for shooting campaigns, product photography, educational glam tutorials, PR events, masterclasses, and live-selling sessions.

Designed with a sleek light gray palette, a full glam room, and props like Gaga’s piano and keytar, the store is both on-brand and broadcast-ready backdrop for content creation.

The payoff? A million dollars saved annually by bringing production in-house and reducing reliance on external vendors, a 70% spike in social engagement since its 2022 relaunch, and a brand that can now create at the speed of culture.

E. Winky Lux | Where Every Aisle is an Instagrammable Aesthetic

At Winky Lux’s New York Experiential Store, shopping takes a backseat to storytelling. The cruelty-free beauty brand has reimagined retail as a candy-colored dreamland made for content creation - charging a $10 entry fee (fully redeemable against purchase) for access to an interactive and whimsical world of “selfie corners.” The store has a retail shop, but visitors are welcomed even if they only want to visit the content creation space.

More film set than storefront, the space features seven themed rooms inspired by Winky Lux products - giant lipsticks, lush florals, and disco-lit dreamscapes. Every corner is designed for customers who enjoy creating social media content and optimized for social media storytelling, making customers the stars of their own beauty narrative. The result is a constant stream of user-generated content that blurs the line between shopper and influencer.

It doesn’t stop at set design. Winky Lux is looking to evolve the space into a full-fledged community hub with influencer events, potential F&B collaborations, and other experiences.

With retail, content, and connection all under one pastel roof, Winky Lux proves that when the store is camera-ready, the brand stays top-of-feed and top-of-mind!

Decoding Retail: Your Insider Glossary

'Creator Accelerator Program'

A structured creator-first initiative by retail or consumer brands to support content creators through mentorship, funding, product collaborations, and dedicated content labs or in-store studio access, often culminating in co-branded campaigns or product launches.

Volition Beauty & Creator BrandsAccelerator Program invites up-and-coming content creators to pitch product ideas, develop custom formulations, and bring them to life — with full brand and retail support.

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