AI, Community & Culture: How Samsung, Leroy Merlin and Retail Leaders Are Reinventing Brick-and-Mortar

Across categories and geographies, leading brands are transforming physical spaces into dynamic environments that spark emotion, build community, and reignite the unique power of brick-and-mortar. Retail Innovations 2026 illustrates 16 brands and retailers prioritizing experience and competing on reasons to visit. For this week’s #ThemeThursday we focus on Engaging Destinations, highlighting four concepts below.

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Leroy Merlin: Hyper-Local, Service-Led Proximity

Image Source: Leroy Merlin

Instead of scaling down its traditional big-box model, Leroy Merlin rethought what a DIY store could be and reinvented it. Le Kiosque is a compact, 430 sf urban format designed for Parisians who lack easy access to suburban home improvement stores.

Rather than focusing on inventory, Le Kiosque centers on services: tool lending, moving kits, small task DIY support, and coordination with local partners. A project bar offers personalized advice, service booking, and delivery planning while transforming the store into a collaborative neighborhood hub.

By merging retail and services, Leroy Merlin becomes an ecosystem facilitator. The journey shifts from transactional to experiential, positioning the brand as a community ally in daily urban life.

Samsung: AI You Can Taste

Image Source: Sem Igual

Samsung’s Sem Igual pop-up demonstrates how technology can drive emotional engagement. In temporary restaurant spaces across Portugal, visitors selected ingredients using Galaxy devices. Galaxy AI then generated a unique, real-time recipe—turning AI into a creative “chef.”

The journey was simple and powerful: try > personalize > taste > share.

Every dish was different, reinforcing the idea that technology should adapt to people—not the other way around. Beyond spectacle, the concept delivered tangible utility while lowering barriers to AI adoption. It blended education, entertainment, and product desire into one measurable experience, marrying physical retail with digital innovation.

Printemps: Parisian Intimacy in Manhattan

Image Source: Printemps

When historic French department store Printemps entered New York, it created a two-level, highly curated space in Manhattan’s Financial District—one-tenth the size of its original.

Designed as an intimate Parisian residence, the store features themed salons, immersive dressing rooms, a mosaic-lined “Red Room” shoe gallery, and five food and beverage concepts. Cultural programming and events transform the space into a hybrid destination where shopping, hospitality, and art converge.

The breakthrough is thoughtful localization. Printemps distilled its heritage—elegance, atmosphere, cultural depth—and adapted it to a fast-paced city that values discovery and personality. It’s a lesson in authentic, place-based reinvention.

MECCA: Beauty as Culture and Community

Image Source: MECCA

Representing over 200 global brands across skincare, fragrance, makeup, and wellness, MECCA’s five-level Melbourne flagship redefines beauty retail as an immersive playground of education, artistry, and service. Treatment rooms, a Skin Lab, a fragrance bar, masterclasses, and rotating installations create layered reasons to dwell.

The store integrates science-led consulting, experiential fragrance discovery, and creator-led education. It functions as a cultural hub where customers learn, experiment, connect, and return for rotating activations and brand takeovers.

In doing so, MECCA shifts beauty from product-focused to participation-driven—positioning the store as media platform, classroom, and community space all at once.

The Bigger Shift

Across DIY, tech, luxury, and beauty, the message is clear: physical retail wins when it becomes experiential, human-centered, and locally relevant. The future store isn’t just a place to buy. It’s a place to belong, to learn, to discover, and to feel something. And that’s a competitive advantage no algorithm can replicate.

Are you looking to stand out from the competition? Contact us for expert support in designing your engaging destination.