Harvey Nichols to stage in-store virtual circus experience this month

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Mar 2, 2020

As experiences become ever more important to physical retail locations in terms of attracting visitors in-store, some retailers are diving deep into the most immersive experiences.

Harvey Nichols is the latest of these and is linking up with virtual reality theatre specialist Limina Immersive and Cirque du Soleil on an evening of circus experiences, not in its London flagship as might be expected, but in its Bristol branch. The experience has been touring the country since last year and it's interesting that it's now being taken up by a retailer.

Not that we should expect to see a big top in the middle of its Bristol store. The plans are for a ‘virtual’ circus with two virtual reality films that will help participants feel like they're being transported into “vibrant lands, rich with strange spectacles and illusions”.

Shoppers should expect to see acrobatics against an ocean background as well as contortionists and aerial performances, Campaign Live reported. The overall experience, created in collaboration with Felix & Paul Studios, can also include dinner.

It will be happening at the Bristol location on March 12 and underlines the importance of experience retail, especially for luxury shops selling the most expensive products. More and more department stores in particular are aiming not just to boost visitor traffic, but to increase overall engagement with the brand among high-spending and ultra-demanding consumers with the kind of experiences that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.