View into Nike’s House of Innovation store featuring immersive in-store retail experiences with mannequins, escalators, LED lighting, and brand signage — showcasing the future of connected retail.

Berlin, Germany

Past

Reimagining Retail with Interactive In-Store Experiences

Formist Studio partnered with Nike to transform flagship stores into immersive, digitally connected spaces. Through research-led strategy, interface design, and systems integration, we helped Nike blend physical and digital commerce — elevating engagement, personalization, and purchase pathways.

  • Night view of Nike flagship store exterior with illuminated branding and street-level interaction — representing retail ethnography and urban immersion.

    Research

    We began with ethnographic observation and journey mapping to understand how customers navigate in-store discovery, customization, and purchase. Key insights emerged around expectations for personalization, convenience, and seamless digital integration.

  • Interior view of Nike retail space with mannequins and dynamic digital signage, showcasing personalized retail environments and immersive product discovery.

    Insight

    Consumers sought intuitive, self-directed tools that extended beyond inventory browsing — they wanted contextual content, real-time availability, and personalization. These behaviors became the foundation for a new interactive retail ecosystem.

  • Nike retail bench and product wall layout, highlighting connected physical touchpoints and digital integration across the shopping journey.

    Strategy

    We designed a multi-surface retail experience: a connected ecosystem of kiosks, walls, and tables that bridged Nike’s digital infrastructure with high-impact physical touchpoints — including social, mobile, and campaign layers.

  • Nike “Just Do It” campaign wall inside flagship store, symbolizing brand storytelling, modular retail systems, and scalable experiential design.

    Future

    Nike’s flagship environments now serve as a foundation for continuous retail innovation. With a scalable system architecture and modular design language, new layers — from AI personalization to real-time events and mobile integrations — can be deployed with minimal friction. These adaptive store formats position Nike to lead the future of immersive, connected commerce.

Retail Tech Case Study

Challenge

Nike aimed to close the gap between physical and digital retail. With consumer expectations shifting toward personalization and convenience, the challenge was to design immersive installations that connect in-store environments with Nike’s broader e-commerce and ERP systems.

Integrations

We architected a retail ecosystem which unifies digital infrastructure with in-store interaction:

  • Connected ERP & CMS — Linked live inventory, pricing, and content management systems to front-of-house displays.

  • Mobile Payments — Enabled seamless purchasing directly from installations using smartphones and QR codes.

  • Campaign Syncing — Integrated real-time brand campaigns, sports events, and seasonal promotions across surfaces.

  • Event Activation — Designed dynamic triggers for local events and exclusive drops, driving in-store engagement.

  • Playful Discovery — Embedded game mechanics and interactive storytelling to encourage exploration and linger time.

  • Social Channels — Integrated user-generated content and social signals into the retail environment.

  • Products — Synced product metadata, availability, and customization options across kiosks and tables.

  • Connected Devices — Enabled interactions between consumers’ mobile devices and Nike's in-store experiences (e.g. handoff-to-phone, wishlist sync).

Together, these integrations enabled Nike to orchestrate immersive, data-powered retail experiences — responsive, contextual, and scalable across global stores.

Development

  • Endless Aisle Kiosk — A 65-inch touchscreen for exploring Nike’s full product range, customizing items, and completing purchases beyond in-store inventory.

  • Interactive Wall — A multi-touch installation featuring live sports feeds, product launches, and personalized recommendations.

  • Product Table — An RFID-enabled display offering side-by-side comparisons, videos, and availability info — all in real time.

  • Interfaces were built to be responsive, intuitive, and aligned with Nike’s brand language, using motion design to drive interaction and storytelling.

Solution

Formist Studio delivered a modular retail toolkit — enabling Nike to scale interactive, digitally connected experiences across global flagship stores. Each installation served as an entry point into a larger ecosystem, connecting content, commerce, and consumer behavior in real time.

Key elements included:

  • Modular Installations — Interactive kiosks, RFID-enabled product tables, and multi-touch media walls designed for flexibility, speed, and brand alignment.

  • Seamless Digital Ecosystem — Integrated with Nike’s ERP, CMS, and e-commerce stack to ensure inventory accuracy, product discovery, and content personalization.

  • Multi-Surface Synchronization — Surfaces connected to mobile, events, social media, and campaign layers — ensuring dynamic storytelling across touchpoints.

  • Real-Time Data Layer — Powered live product availability, personalization, and interactive features through direct API integrations.

  • Scalable System Architecture — Designed for deployment across multiple retail environments with minimal technical overhead and maximum consistency.

Nike interactive retail wall featuring campaign content, live media feeds, and digital touchpoints — designed for immersive storytelling and brand engagement.

The Interactive Wall served as an always-on storytelling surface, blending campaign content, athlete footage, and social media signals. Designed as a dynamic touchpoint near store entryways and transition zones, it activated attention, communicated Nike’s brand voice, and encouraged dwell time through immersive media and motion-driven UX.

Endless aisle digital kiosk inside Nike store, enabling product exploration and team selection in retail environments with real-time inventory access.

The Endless Aisle Kiosk extended Nike’s product offering beyond physical inventory. Customers could browse full collections, compare team kits, and customize gear — all through an intuitive touchscreen interface. Real-time data synced with Nike’s ERP ensured availability accuracy and streamlined the path to purchase, whether in-store or online.

RFID-enabled Nike product table displaying interactive 3D product comparisons, embedded content, and real-time availability in immersive retail setting.

At the center of the experience, the RFID-enabled Product Table allowed users to place items directly onto the surface to unlock side-by-side comparisons, videos, and technical specs. Designed for intuitive interaction and tactile engagement, it empowered informed purchase decisions while connecting seamlessly to backend systems for availability and personalization.

Results

  • 1,000+ daily interactions across in-store installations

  • Increased conversion rates through seamless digital-to-physical journeys

  • Higher consumer satisfaction with improved personalization and convenience

  • Scalable design system enabled Nike to deploy across multiple retail locations

  • Stronger brand presence through future-ready, immersive store formats

Awards

The future of retail is interactive, data-powered, and deeply human — where digital and physical experiences move as one.

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