Landmark retail giant, Bloomingdales known for its flag-ship New York store in New York City is delivering an immersive shopping experience thanks to larger-than-life video walls created with 50 LG OLED commercial displays. Offering a dramatic backdrop for the upscale retailer’s “The Carousel @ Bloomingdale’s,” pop-up shop, the video walls tell culturally relevant stories driven by guest curators, each with a unique theme and an unexpected mix of products brought to life by immersive in-store experiences.
“This is one of those projects that was meant to be,” said Garry Wicka, head of marketing for LG Electronics USA Business Solutions. “The stars aligned as LG was embarking on another product initiative with Bloomingdales, and they inquired about our incredible LG OLED video wall technology for the backdrop of their groundbreaking new Carousel project.”
Flanking the shop in Bloomingdale’s 59th Street store are two 20-foot wide, 12-foot high video walls, each composed of 25 LG OLED video wall displays in seamless 5 x 5 configurations. Each 55-inch “wallpaper” display, which weighs less than 13 pounds, has a razor-thin depth of just 3.65 mm and a bezel width of only 1.2 mm. All told, more than 100 million pixels make up the 480 square feet of video wall.
“As with any project of this magnitude, there were some challenges, but no real technological challenges to speak of,” Wicka said of the installation process. “Just the usual issues of coordination among many external stakeholders, from Bloomingdales to content providers to union workers, and our own internal teams—support engineers, marketing, and logistics. All stakeholders agreed that the foundation of this project is LG OLED, the best video wall product on the planet. Open, frequent communications and coordination was key to success and the end result.”
The first installment, entitled “Urban Explorer,” takes shoppers on a tour of the urban wilderness, bringing a chic outdoor aesthetic into the concrete jungle with an assortment of tactical gear and functional fashion. The Carousel will be refreshed every two months with a new of-the-moment theme and features a constant rotation of animation and events to amplify the customer experience.
According to Bloomingdale’s, the shop feels like a standalone boutique, and it will have a dedicated entrance located on 60th Street between 3rd Avenue and Lexington Avenue. The LG OLED commercial displays with ultra slim bezels line the perimeter of the shop and play thematic content to further engage consumers into the story.
“The engulfing screens create a cocoon-like feel, virtually transporting guests to new destination,” noted Frank Berman, Bloomingdale’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer. “The combination of unexpected product, unique shopping environment, and engaging experiences makes The Carousel like no other pop-up shop in the world.”
Playing continuous loops of New York City views, the LG OLED video walls get shoppers into the mindset of the Urban Explorer. The massive screens show synchronized content that moves cohesively, setting the scene and essentially transporting guests to the middle of the urban wilderness. Video themes include a bird’s-eye view of the city, hidden and forgotten places, striking architecture, familiar facades, iconic landmarks, and worm’s-eye views.
