Shopping online has made convenience the norm. Consumers can compare prices, read reviews, and have purchases delivered within days, leaving physical retailers with a different challenge: giving people a reason to visit.
InfoComm 2026 explored that challenge during "Designing Immersive Experiences," a Vision Stage session moderated by OpenEye Global CEO and Founder Bryan Meszaros. The panel featured TAD Associates Partner Rob Badenoch and Original Syndicate CEO and Founder Ben C. Roth.
The Purpose of the Store Has Changed
"The retail experience is, in the last decade or so, no longer about distribution of products and sales but more about placemaking and being a center point of a brand," Badenoch said.
Apple stores are one example. Many visitors walk through the doors with no intention of making a purchase. They might be there to test a product, ask questions, attend a class, troubleshoot a device, or simply spend time with the brand. Buying something is only one part of the experience.
"The expectations for how seamless these experiences should be in retail match what we now come to expect of our own devices," Badenoch said.
Meszaros asked whether those expectations are being driven by consumers or whether retailers are trying to stay ahead of them. Badenoch said it's a little of both. Younger shoppers often expect digital experiences to recognize their preferences because they've grown up with smartphones and social media. Older generations, however, can see that same level of personalization very differently.
Drawing from projects outside the retail industry, Badenoch recalled senior law partners becoming uncomfortable when a conference room recognized them by name because it felt invasive rather than helpful. Generational differences like those, he said, are becoming increasingly important.
Story Before Technology
During the session, Badenoch also noted that the most successful projects begin by defining the goal before selecting the technology.
"It's best if we're involved early," he said. "Understanding what the goals are and answering the question why before the selection of something...my favorite project backgrounds are when we're at the table having that conversation."
Meszaros noted that those conversations often involve marketing teams, architects, interior designers, IT departments, facilities managers, and AV professionals, all of whom bring different priorities to a project.
Roth agreed that technology should support a larger vision rather than become the attraction itself.
"Experience is a verb. It's not a noun," he said. "We shouldn't be building monuments to retail. We should be building programs."
"When we install equipment, it's meant to be invisible," Roth added. "What should come forward is...how do you tell a great story?"
Building Experiences That Last
Roth encouraged attendees to think beyond opening day. Many clients ask about future-proofing their investment, but he believes "future-ready" is a better way to think about it. While hardware will eventually be replaced, the customer experience should continue evolving through refreshed content, refined operations, and new technology without losing sight of the original vision.
Badenoch offered another perspective. Technology is advancing so quickly that designers also have to consider how people interact with it. He compared it to designing "the world's fastest sailing ship just before the invention of the steam engine."
Companies can spend years refining digital interfaces, only to discover that the way customers access information has changed. Badenoch illustrated the point with a simple example from everyday life. His partner still checks a weather app called Weather Kitty because she enjoys its playful design. He doesn't open a weather app anymore. Instead, he simply asks an AI assistant.
As more consumers turn to conversations with AI instead of navigating menus, searches, and touchscreens, retail designers may have to rethink how people interact with in-store technology.
Measuring the Experience
Meszaros then turned the conversation to measurement, asking how retailers can determine whether investments in immersive experiences are actually paying off.
Badenoch said the answer isn't collecting more information. Connected devices already generate enormous amounts of data.
"The best thing we can do is capture that information and normalize it into a common repository," he said.
Much of that data already exists throughout smart buildings and retail environments. Organizing it into a common system allows marketing and customer experience teams to analyze customer behavior, identify patterns, and uncover opportunities using AI and other analytics tools.
Roth approached the topic from a different perspective by looking beyond the retail floor. Companies can use immersive technology during product development to observe how people naturally interact with products before they ever reach store shelves. Those insights can influence packaging, usability, product design, and other decisions long before a product reaches consumers.
"It's not about manufactured experience. It's not about spectacle," Roth said. "It's about real insight."
Badenoch and Roth approached the topic from various angles, but both emphasized the same idea: Data has the greatest value when it helps organizations make better decisions and create more meaningful customer experiences.
Creating a Reason to Visit
Meszaros closed the discussion by asking how retailers can extend immersive experiences beyond flagship locations and across entire store networks.
Roth said the answer starts with understanding the purpose of each location. A flagship store may be designed to immerse customers in a brand, while a smaller neighborhood location may serve a very different role. Rather than trying to duplicate the same experience everywhere, retailers should first decide what they want each store to accomplish.
He summed up that philosophy with a phrase he often hears from his 25-year-old daughter.
"She's basically like, 'Am I going for a deal or a feel? If I'm going for a deal, I'm probably going online. If I'm going for a feel, I'm probably going to a store experience."