Welcome to #WonderNews: the Alice Wonders newsletter that connects you to the top trends in technology, design, architecture and customer-focused sensory experiences that strengthen brands in physical stores, in Brazil and around the world.
In an increasingly dynamic consumer market, these areas play an essential role in building spaces and interactions that delight customers and create emotional connections with them.
With that in mind, follow along for valuable insights, innovations and ideas that inspire transformation and drive brand success. Grab your coffee and enjoy the read. ☕️
Pop-ups as sensory and social experiences
CASETiFY teamed up with Butter Bear to create a pop-up as sweet as it is strategic: the Spring Dessert Shop, which took over the Ground Plaza at MixC Phase II in Hangzhou. With a pastel aesthetic, a playful vibe and a carefully crafted kawaii universe, the activation taps into the power of enchantment to attract, engage and generate content.
At the heart of the experience: a limited-edition gift box — available only at the pop-up — and surprise giveaways that encourage spontaneous sharing and in-person visits to the space.
The activation reinforces a trend: retail has been betting on temporary spaces as platforms to test new collections, tell brand stories and spark desire in real time, with a strong focus on sensory experiences.
By combining Butter Bear’s visual appeal with CASETiFY’s trendy tech accessories, the collaboration shows how narrative, collection and experience can coexist to create something memorable that goes far beyond the point of sale.
How Metic Lounge turns design into sensory immersion
In the middle of bustling Shanghai, Metic Lounge, designed by All Design Studio (ADS), is an excellent example of how retail — and entertainment — can harness architecture, technology and emotion to create memorable, sensory experiences.
With a quarter-sphere layout, the space was designed to work as a “magnetic field.” Far from being merely poetic, this metaphor translates into an immersive environment with intentional control of light, sound and spatiality. Upon entering, visitors are guided through a tall, arched corridor that shuts out outside noise and heightens the sense of depth.
Beyond being visually striking, the project uses sensory strategies as an experience tool. Dynamic lighting, reflective materials and the arrangement of furniture lead the user journey through different atmospheres, from the central bar to private KTV rooms and a cigar room.
For brands and businesses, Metic Lounge is a case study showing how spaces can go beyond aesthetics and become immersive environments designed for emotional, social and strategic connection.
In practice, it’s the kind of activation that delivers more than a physical location: it offers context, memory and meaning — exactly what today’s consumers are looking for when they leave home.
Amouage reopens in Oman and embraces emotioneering to evoke emotion
High-end perfume house AMOUAGE has just reopened its flagship in Oman with a design that doesn’t just impress — it moves. And it does so with a strategy that’s increasingly common in global retail: emotioneering.
With a giant frankincense tree rising through two floors, the boutique turns architecture into narrative, design into symbol and space into feeling. Everything in the store communicates the brand’s territory, from its origins in the Omani desert to window displays conceived as true works of art.
Nothing there is generic. From light tones reminiscent of the dunes to organic shapes that connect customers to the local landscape, the experience is sensory, symbolic and deeply emotional.
More than a store, the AMOUAGE flagship is a manifesto. It’s an example of how the point of sale can become a point of fascination — when it brings together storytelling, visual identity and emotional intent.
This is the kind of project that doesn’t just sell a luxury product: it sells belonging, culture and memory. For brands looking to stand out in the premium market, the lesson is clear: visual impact isn’t enough — you need emotional impact.
Glossier turns its fragrance launch into a multisensory experience
To launch the Glossier You Fleur fragrance, the brand transformed Galerie Joseph in Paris into an immersive field where technology and emotion came together poetically.
Created in collaboration with Random Studio, the activation took sensory storytelling to a new level: digital flowers that reacted to visitors’ movements, fragrances represented by pavilions of light, sound and color, and artificial intelligence that analyzed facial expressions and posture to generate personalized poetry in real time.
Yes, the technology read your face and gave you back a feeling. A brand experience where digital isn’t a tool, but an active part of the emotional narrative.
This fusion of spatial AI, emotion recognition and interactive design shows how the retail of the future is already being written — and felt. Instead of explaining a product, Glossier chose to make consumers feel it.
And that’s where the project’s strength lies: a smart use of technology in service of sensitivity, turning the point of sale into a point of deep connection with the audience.
Data that connects people and products
Old Navy has just taken an important step in its digital transformation: it partnered with Radar, a solution that combines RFID, computer vision, and AI to track products with almost surgical precision — in real time and at the point of sale.
The goal? To give store associates item-level inventory location data, optimizing replenishment, customer service, and the omnichannel experience.
But what stood out most about this project went beyond the technology itself: a clear bet on the power of data as the engine of the experience. Old Navy wants to run its physical stores with the same precision as an e-commerce operation. And that’s only possible with smart, real-time data.
This kind of initiative ties directly into what we’ve created here at Alice Wonders: Granometrics — our sensor built into our technologies that analyzes consumer flow, behavior, and interaction in the physical space. Which area gets the most traffic? Which product draws the most attention? Where do customers spend the most time?
This is data that, when used well, helps brands personalize their physical environments based on what truly matters to their audience.
Because, in the end, technology alone doesn’t transform anything. But technology with purpose and data intelligence… now that’s a game changer.
The store became a stage at H&M
H&M wiped its entire Instagram feed. It threw a surprise Charli XCX show in Times Square. It turned its website into a big shoppable showcase of experiences.
The holiday collection became just the backdrop. What the brand really did was reposition the point of sale as a place for cultural experiences, connecting with the lifestyle of Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
Beyond its revamped digital content, H&M invested in physical events, influencer campaigns, and integrated activations across multiple channels — all to make the brand more present in young consumers’ everyday lives (and feeds).
The strategy shows how brick-and-mortar retail can — and should — stop being just a place to shop. And become a space for connection, engagement, and entertainment. The new generation wants more than products: they want to be part of something.
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