Skip to content
‹ Back to IndustriesRetail

Creating Immersive Retail Experiences at SXSW: What’s the Future of Brand Engagement?

Brands must answer fundamental questions about their values to create retail spaces that truly connect with today's consumers

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Retail teams put it to work with Sales Enablement.

By Melissa Gonzalez · · Immersive Retail ExperiencesMelissa GonzalezMg2Retail Insights
Share

Key takeaways

01

Brands must answer fundamental questions about their values to create retail spaces that truly connect with today's consumers

Free workspace

Turn your Retail expertise into content.

Record interviews, organize footage, and write with AI on a free trial of the MarketScale platform for qualifying companies. No demo required, no credit card.

Try it Free

How can brands leverage theater-driven design to create immersive retail experiences that resonate with consumers? Melissa Gonzalez, Principal and Shareholder at MG2 Design and the host of Retail Refined, has illuminated this topic at SXSW (South by Southwest) 2024, highlighting the significance of engaging consumers through multiple touchpoints.

"What do you stand for? Why do you deserve my money? It was great to see so many of those themes and topics really bubble up to the top of conversations," Gonzalez said, emphasizing the need for brands to craft compelling, personalized narratives that capture the consumer’s imagination and foster a connection

What do you stand for? Why do you deserve my money?
— Melissa Gonzalez, Principal and Shareholder at MG2 Design

Your experts belong here

Every story in MarketScale Retail starts with a company putting its merchandising leads, store operations teams, and category managers on the record. Buyers are already reading this topic. The only question is whose experts they find.

Category buyers trust operators, so your merchandising leads shorten the distance between first search and first call.

Book DemoSee how it works15 minutes, straight to a calendar.

About the author

Melissa Gonzalez
Melissa GonzalezTop Retail Voice, Influencer, and Lead Retail Contributor, Retail Refined

Industry-recognized influencer, leader, and storyteller in Retail. Lead Retail Industry Contributor at MarketScale. Principal at MG2 Design. Host of "Retail Refined" Podcast. As a global brand and retail experience disruptor, Melissa possess strong proficiency in consumer insights, experiential design, retail technology integration, and brand innovation. During her career, she have created powerful visual narratives through physical spaces, imprinting complex concepts and ideas to consumers in genuine, tactile, and persuasive manners. She have also served as a consumer engagement trendsetter, “pop-up” industry pioneer, and entrepreneur. Melissa founded and launched a consumer experiential design firm that achieved a successful exit, driving initial client wins, monetization, and exponential revenue growth. "Melissa brings both her industry knowledge and an approachable and educational point of view to her interviewing skills. With an authentic style, she facilitates an engaging dialogue, one where listeners can walk away from with tangible insights and thought provokers!" -Jeffrey Roseman, Vice Chairman of Retail at Newmark "What sets Melissa apart is her ability to cut through the noise and provide actionable insights. Whether you’re a store owner looking to revamp your space or a tech enthusiast curious about the next big thing in retail, you’ll find tangible ideas to build on. From seasoned designers to pioneering tech gurus - ensuring that listeners are always engaged with diverse and forward-thinking perspectives. Retail Refined doesn’t just skim the surface; it dives deep into topics that matter. If staying ahead of the retail curve is important to you, start here." -Nate Frazier, Chief Operating Officer of GNC

B2B Weekly

The week in Retail, and sixteen other industries, every Monday.

Ten stories, one-line takes, five minutes. Free.

Retail: are you visible to AI?

Before they reach out, Retail buyers ask AI engines which vendors to trust. Explore how your experts, customers, and partners can become useful content for buyers and AI search.

Free Trial

You just read one Retail expert. Your company is full of them.

This article was produced through MarketScale. The same platform turns your merchandising leads, store operations teams, and category managers into the articles, video, and social content Retail buyers are searching for. Start a free trial and see it with your own people. For qualifying companies, no credit card, no demo required.

NPS +73 · 1,000+ creators · 38+ countries

What your free trial includes

Hands-on access to the MarketScale platform
Media requests to your crowd, remote recording, AI writing tools
No demo required. No credit card.
For qualifying companies. Company confirmation required.

More Retail Insights

Amazon's $5.7 billion store quarter is the small part of its retail push

Amazon's $5.7 billion store quarter is the small part of its retail push

Amazon reported $5.7 billion in physical store net sales in Q3 2026, up 2% year over year. Groceries and everyday essentials were about half of the units Amazon sold in Q3, a sign the grocery push is running mostly through delivery. For grocers, Amazon’s delivery-side footprint could matter more than the physical store line.

  • 01When Amazon's CEO talks about 'stores' with hundreds of billions in revenue and double-digit margins, that is the whole retail business; the physical-store line is about $5.7 billion a quarter.
  • 02Groceries and everyday essentials were about half of the units Amazon sold in Q3 while its physical stores grew 2%, a sign the grocery push is running mostly through delivery.
  • 03Growth multiples measured from Amazon's first physical-store quarter in 2017 start from roughly five weeks of Whole Foods sales, so they overstate like-for-like growth.

Nov 12, 2026

SAP and VF Corp's Walldorf store runs without staff during set hours

SAP and VF Corp's Walldorf store runs without staff during set hours

SAP and VF Corporation opened S.Fashion, a test store at SAP's Walldorf headquarters that runs with no staff during selected hours. Its core promise is operational: a sale updates inventory and can trigger replenishment without manual handoffs. That chain leans on item-level RFID data and robotics.

  • 01S.Fashion’s operational focus is the unglamorous part: a sale updates inventory and can trigger replenishment without a manual handoff between systems. Shopper-facing features like holographic try-on and an AI-assisted embroidery station sit alongside that back-end integration.
  • 02With nobody on the floor, the inventory record is the main witness an agent can act on. Vendor-supplied RFID benchmarks highlight how big the gap can be versus manual counting, so accuracy is the number to verify before automating restock decisions.
  • 03VF Corporation says it plans to scale what works across its brands. The first S.Fashion feature to show up in a The North Face, Vans or Timberland store will reveal which part held up.

Nov 11, 2026

Mizner Park sold to CP Group, Georgetown and ACRE partners

Mizner Park sold to CP Group, Georgetown and ACRE partners

CP Group, Georgetown and ACRE acquired Mizner Park, dividing leasing, management and renovation work across office, retail and apartments; the buildings sit on land under a ground lease running to 2088, and StepStone is involved via ACRE’s co-investment relationship.

  • 01Mizner Park work is split: CP Group and Georgetown manage office and retail, ACRE and ZRS handle apartments, and CBRE and Newmark lease office and retail.
  • 02The new owners hold the buildings while Boca Raton's Community Redevelopment Agency owns the land, on a ground lease running to 2088, and the long-term plan is being developed with the city.
  • 03East Boca retail asks about $40 a square foot at 4.5% vacancy, below West Palm Beach's urban core, which gives a refreshed tenant mix a clear rent benchmark to measure against.

Nov 10, 2026

Explore More Retail Insights

Read more expert perspectives from across Retail.

Browse Retail Hub

About the Expert

Melissa Gonzalez
Melissa Gonzalez

Top Retail Voice, Influencer, and Lead Retail Contributor

Retail Refined

Industry-recognized influencer, leader, and storyteller in Retail. Lead Retail Industry Contributor at MarketScale. Principal at MG2 Design. Host of "Retail Refined" Podcast. As a global brand and retail experience disruptor, Melissa possess strong proficiency in consumer insights, experiential design, retail technology integration, and brand innovation. During her career, she have created powerful visual narratives through physical spaces, imprinting complex concepts and ideas to consumers in genuine, tactile, and persuasive manners. She have also served as a consumer engagement trendsetter, “pop-up” industry pioneer, and entrepreneur. Melissa founded and launched a consumer experiential design firm that achieved a successful exit, driving initial client wins, monetization, and exponential revenue growth. "Melissa brings both her industry knowledge and an approachable and educational point of view to her interviewing skills. With an authentic style, she facilitates an engaging dialogue, one where listeners can walk away from with tangible insights and thought provokers!" -Jeffrey Roseman, Vice Chairman of Retail at Newmark "What sets Melissa apart is her ability to cut through the noise and provide actionable insights. Whether you’re a store owner looking to revamp your space or a tech enthusiast curious about the next big thing in retail, you’ll find tangible ideas to build on. From seasoned designers to pioneering tech gurus - ensuring that listeners are always engaged with diverse and forward-thinking perspectives. Retail Refined doesn’t just skim the surface; it dives deep into topics that matter. If staying ahead of the retail curve is important to you, start here." -Nate Frazier, Chief Operating Officer of GNC

For B2B teams

Your experts could be publishing here

Stories like this one run on content MarketScale captures from real practitioners. See how your team's expertise becomes coverage in Retail and beyond.

Book a Demo

Or call us. No forms required. We pick up. 214-945-2512