storplay

good mornin' merry makers 🎥 🎬 🎭 🎤 📸

ever walk into a store that felt more like an show than a showroom? that's not an accident. that's entertainment at work.

aka retailtainment.

i've been diving into this fascinating report called "entertain or die" from tracksuit & i can't stop thinking about its implications for our brick & mortar world. turns out, the most successful brands aren't just selling stuff, they're actively entertaining us across all channels.

the retail winners are taking this to heart in a big way.

entertainment math

first, let's nerd out on the methodology, because what i find particularly nerdy-delightful about this report is how tracksuit has managed to quantify something that feels inherently unquantifiable: entertainment value.

tracksuit partnered with small world agency to create the entertainment index (EI)—a data-driven scoring system that measures how effectively brands create & sustain entertainment value. they analyzed social content at scale & surveyed 20,000 respondents to assess which brands truly entertain, engage, & grow.

here's what immediately stood out to me:

• almost half of the top 100 most entertaining brands in the world have owned & operated retail locations.

• another 20% have wholesale presence in physical stores.

• together that means a whopping 70% of the world's most entertaining brands have some form of brick & mortar experience.

the days of competing only within your category in one channel are over. brands aren't just advertisers in local newspapers anymore. they need to be entertainers. & the physical store is becoming their best stage.

retailtainment for real

global experiential marketing spending grew by 10.5% last year, exceeding pre-pandemic levels for the first time. brands are realizing that in a chronically online world, getting people offline can be the most entertaining thing of all.

the genius twist is that these in-person moments then get amplified through digital channels.

take atlantic records & charli xcx's "brat wall" activation. while only a few hundred people attended the biggest live performance, over half a million watched the livestream, & the content generated 14 million views on tiktok. charli's awareness jumped from 40% to 44% in just months — translating to 1.2 million more people knowing her in the uk market.

this is the new playbook:

attention = margin

one of the most interesting insights from the report is how niche interests are becoming mainstream through algorithmic platforms like tiktok & youtube.

smart retailers are tapping into this by designing stores that cater to specific communities rather than trying to please everyone. new balance, for instance, has reinvented itself through niche subcultures, seeing a 6.1% growth in their entertainment score.

the report highlights that "by investing in content that infiltrates niche subcultures," brands can build passionate communities that become powerful advocates.

for retailers, this means curating in-store experiences that feel intimate & specific, even if the brand itself is massive.

your store is your stage

here's where it gets really interesting. the report shows that the most entertaining brands grow faster. by earning attention, these brands build "an army of fans willing to share their stories, earning them reach & making their marketing ten times more effective."

in an era where paid acquisition costs are skyrocketing, entertainment becomes an efficiency play. as the report bluntly puts it: "since the early 2000s, big tech has gotten fat off of the promise that they can reach your customers cheaper & more effectively than anyone else, but that world doesn't exist anymore."

in other words, you can't just buy attention anymore.

you have to earn it by being genuinely entertaining.

attention-grabbing, aisle-owning icons

these brands ranked highest on entertainment growth (eg) & according to the report as poised for massive cultural impact:

• loewe (+14.3% eg) turning catwalks into cinematic universes

• a24 (+13.8% eg) arthouse studio turned internet obsession

• ufc (+13.6% eg) sports + storytelling = knockout engagement

• crocs (+7.7% eg) ugly shoes, unbeatable brand swagger

• hermès (+6.7% eg) timeless luxury with myth-level mystique

• jacquemus (+6.1% eg) french fashion’s marketing mischief-maker

• new balance (+6.1% eg) quiet brand, loud cultural comeback

• epic games (+5.1% eg) building worlds beyond the joystick

• adidas (+2.4% eg) remixing sport with street culture & hype-y collabs

• gopro (+0.3% eg) still filming, still flying

notice a pattern in the above?

all, except 1, have significant retail or irl presence.

curious about the other brands on the list?

you’ll have to grab the report below!

setting the scene in store

so what can you actually do with this information?

here are some practical ideas:

1. treat every touchpoint as entertainment: every moment with your brand should spark delight. whether it’s the first thing they see in your window or the way your team greets them, think of each interaction as a chance to surprise, delight, or even make someone laugh.

2. build a third space: the report notes "a mass decline in third spaces from bars to youth centers has led to an uptick in brands making meaningful real-life contributions to social infrastructure." make your store a community hub.

3. embrace niche subcultures: instead of trying to appeal to everyone, identify the passionate communities within your customer base & create in-store moments specifically for them. the riches are in the niches.

4. focus on shareability: design elements of your store experience explicitly to be photographed & shared. not as a contrived "instagram wall," but as genuinely surprising moments people want to show & tell their friends.

5. let creativity lead: the most magnetic retail experiences don’t come from playing it safe. they come from bold, imaginative choices that start at the top. prioritize creative thinking in every decision & watch your space come to life.

the revolution in retail isn’t about technology. or omnichannel. or any other breathless buzzword we’ve been force-fed over the past decade.

it’s about entertainment.

which is just a sexier way of saying: make people feel something.

this report makes the case with receipts — the stats, the strategies, & the surprisingly stacked list of the world’s top 100 most entertaining brands. the top 25 will definitely surprise you. you’ll be very inspired by this moodboard-worthy proof that the best retail is part stage, part story, part spell.

if you take away one thing from today’s newsie let it be this:

in this economy, you’re not just selling products. you’re auditioning for attention.

entertain or be edited out.