The trend to Retail-tainment

"A shopping trip is becoming less about the actual transaction and more about the entire retail experience - one that calls for a celebration of art, culture and creativity in the shopping environment," Randall points out.
 
"In South Africa, we are just starting to explore this concept, but in the States, it is embraced and practised vehemently. The idea that a department store can become a 'social centre' is epitomised at Toys R Us in Times Square, New York. This is a marketing concept brought to life, one where the brand is powerful, enticing and ever-present. 
 
"Toys R Us has embraced the need to continuously generate reasons for consumers to enter the store, providing them with a larger than life theatre of retail. Instead of being merely a retail outlet, this store is a veritable playground, complete with a three story, fully operational Ferris wheel, gigantic moving and talking dinosaurs and even an interactive Barbie house where kids step inside Barbie's world. Parents and kids can lose themselves in the magic and fantasy of each brand, making the urge to buy overpowering and compelling. In this environment the buzzwords 'pester-power' and 'unanticipated reward' are a reality and one which never loses sight out of the ultimate goal: Buy, Buy, Buy!"