Bloomingdale’s New Bi-Monthly Themed ‘Carousel’ Pop-Up Store
Float4 Brings Immersive Visual Stories to Bloomingdale’s flagship Manhattan location on 59th Street recently launched its Carousel @ Bloomingdale’s pop-up shop, aimed at giving customers a uniquely curated retail experience, where two floor-to-ceiling video walls immerse shoppers in a thematic visual landscape.
According to Float4 founder and creative director Alexandre Simionescu, “The goal is to create a meticulously curated environment that draws shoppers in with awe-inspiring visuals and ambiance. In a normal retail environment, digital content is typically an add-on that supports existing sales displays and decor. At the Carousel, it is the decor. High-definition video walls encompass the entire area; shoppers find themselves immersed in a standalone boutique, surrounded by commodities related to the season’s theme.”
The Carousel’s inaugural theme was titled Urban Explorer and it featured carefully curated products including stylish bicycle helmets, electronics, personal care items, luggage and more. To encapsulate the ‘urban explorer’ aesthetic, Float4 captured live footage throughout New York City.
Float4 will eventually develop six pieces of content for the Carousel’s first year, demonstrating the studio’s dexterity with digital media production techniques, such as mixing live action footage and real-time graphics. Each piece will be approximately 10 minutes long, allowing customers to experience an entire storyline while shopping.
This project also highlighted Float4’s mastery of digital media technology, requiring specialized equipment and meticulous planning to produce content for dynamic display ratios and resolutions. For the launch of the Urban Explorer theme, each video wall consisted of 25 ultra-thin 55” LG displays in a 5×5 configuration. With the inauguration of the current theme, each wall received an additional 10 displays, resulting in 7×5 video walls that measure 10 feet high by 35 feet wide.
Since its construction, The Carousel has been a hit; Bloomingdale’s Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Frank Berman proclaims that it delivers a shopping experience unmatched by any other store. “As the retail landscape changes, we continually seek innovative ways to engage our customer,” Berman said. “The Carousel allows Bloomingdale’s to regularly offer up new products, new brands and an original immersive experience, all tied to a timely and engaging theme. The engulfing screens create a cocoon-like feel, virtually transporting guests to new destinations, while the combination of unexpected product, unique shopping environment and engaging experiences makes the Carousel like no other pop-up shop in the world.”
According to Bloomingdale’s, the Carousel feels like a standalone boutique, and will have a dedicated entrance located on 60th Street between 3rd Avenue and Lexington Avenue. Each theme and piece of accompanying Float4 content will last two months, with guest experts curating product selections.
Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Montreal QC, Canada, Float4 is an award-winning studio of creative who are passionate about weaving compelling digital experiences into physical spaces to amplify their identity. Collaborating as a team of versatile, like-minded individuals, Float4 strives to redefine conventions by designing and producing innovative and compelling site-specific interactive multimedia installations that attract and engage with targeted audiences around the world.
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