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Creating an Intentional Holiday In-Store Experience
From audio messaging to visual displays, seasonal takeovers can transform the in-store experience—when every element works together. Barry McPhillips, Head of Creative at Mood Media, explains why your holiday customer experience deserves the same attention as your holiday advertising.
It’s December. The streets are bustling. The atmosphere is electric. The wish lists are long and the checkout lines can be even longer.
The holidays are unlike any other time in retail and hospitality. But how do you capture the magic without adding to the pressure? And does the experience inside your store deliver the feeling promised by your advertising on TV, VOD or radio?
Getting customers into the holiday spirit is one thing. Keeping them there is another.
Many hospitality businesses and retailers already look beyond a seasonal music program. For others, there is an opportunity to create a more connected experience through audio, visuals, scent and messaging.
Considered together, these elements can help brands serve customers better while extending the impact of their holiday campaigns. The starting point is a clear purpose for each element—and an understanding of how they work together.
Taking a holistic approach to holiday store design
In the UK, the John Lewis festive television advertisement has become a seasonal talking point. Across the industry, brands including Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Boots invest in high-profile creative campaigns, often featuring celebrity talent, to stake a claim on the season. Coca-Cola’s “Holidays Are Coming” trucks illustrate the kind of enduring seasonal recognition brands hope to build.
The challenge is carrying that creative investment through to the store.
“Retailers invest heavily in beautifully crafted television advertising, but that thinking doesn’t always reach the in-store experience,” explains Barry. “The advertising creates an emotional response. The store should give that emotion somewhere to live.”
A holiday campaign creates a promise. The customer experience has to keep it.
Rather than simply replaying the television advertisement on digital displays, stores could show behind-the-scenes footage or unlock additional scenes only to be seen in-store. Wayfinding content and audio messaging could feature the campaign talent’s voice or likeness, where permissions allow. A carefully selected scent could evoke the campaign’s setting, from an alpine pine forest to a warm, indulgent festive gathering.
Each element should contribute something appropriate and memorable to the physical environment.
This approach can reinforce brand identity and seasonal messaging while giving customers more to discover and enjoy in person. It provides a creative reason to visit the store, alongside the practical reasons to shop there.
Finding the festive balance
A few pieces of tinsel and an artificial tree retrieved from storage may do little to distinguish a store. But an experience with every sensory element turned up can miss the mark just as easily.
Holiday shopping already comes with competing demands: parking, crowded aisles, limited time and long lists. An energetic soundtrack, bright animated displays, a strong scent and frequent announcements can add to that pressure.
“Holiday for holiday’s sake can become counterproductive,” Barry continues. “Less can be more. You want customers to feel comfortable spending time with you. Dwell time only tells a positive story when people actually want to be there.”
Sometimes the most festive thing a store can offer is a little relief.
That reframing extends to employees too. Customers may hear a playlist for twenty minutes; colleagues experience it throughout a shift throughout December. Repetitive music, visuals and announcements need to be assessed from both perspectives.
Balance means sufficient musical variety, well-paced visual content, and messaging that earns its place by helping the customer. These elements should complement each other without making conversation, browsing or decision-making more difficult.
“Start by considering what people want from their holiday shopping experience,” Barry advises. “Some want excitement and discovery. Others want a calmer environment and help getting things done. Depending on your audience, a more subtle approach—or even a break from seasonal references – may be welcome.”
Localization and cultural sensitivity
Every market has its own relationship with the holidays, shaped by religion, customs, climate and community preferences.
A brand operating in Austria and Australia should consider how its seasonal program translates between those settings. Snow-covered scenes may feel immediately relevant in Salzburg. In Sydney, the same imagery draws on a different set of associations during the summer season. Familiar festive imagery can still resonate, but its suitability should be considered rather than assumed.
A consistent brand does not require an identical celebration.
“Understanding the nuances of different communities is an important part of creating a relevant experience,” says Barry. “Traditional festive visuals, and music won’t be right for every audience or location.”
For global brands, this is where a content management system that supports regional and store-level control becomes useful. It allows teams to adapt audio, visuals and messaging while maintaining a recognizable brand identity.
“You want the flexibility to reflect each territory without losing the idea that connects the whole program,” Barry adds.”
Proactive planning
Brands begin working with Mood Media’s music supervisors as early as July. That is also a useful time to start discussing the wider seasonal experience.
“The holiday season places enormous demands on stores, and customer experience can get lost in the rush,” Barry explains. “Visual merchandising, marketing and sales may plan independently, leaving local managers to decide how everything should come together from October to January.”
Your teams have separate responsibilities. Your customer has one experience.
The customer experience principles that apply throughout the year still matter, even more so, during the festive period. Early, coordinated planning gives brands time to find the right balance, prepare content and identify practical ways to help shoppers.
“It’s too important a period to leave to chance,” Barry continues. “With Halloween, Black Friday, Thanksgiving and other seasonal events to consider across different markets, teams can quickly run out of time.”
Planning should also address what customers need at different points in the season. Early gift discovery, last-minute shopping, and collection visits call for different messages.
“Think about what people actually need to know,” Barry says. “A reminder that there are only a few shopping days left may add pressure. Telling them where they can have a gift wrapped could take something off their list.”
The most useful message may be the one that gives the customer less to worry about.
The holidays offer significant commercial opportunities, but a collection of festive assets is only the beginning. Rushing into the final quarter without a shared plan can leave music, displays and messaging competing rather than contributing.
Starting in summer, bringing teams together and connecting marketing activity with the physical experience allows brands to create a season that feels coherent, relevant and true to their identity.
The aim is to make every element count – so the feeling that brought customers through the door stays with them throughout the visit.
Expertise
Barry McPhillips
Barry joined Mood Media as Head of Creative, supporting global brands with progressive customer experience design. With decades of experience across client sectors and in leading creative agencies, he helps shape Mood’s content and strategy capabilities. His work connects creative thinking, customer needs, and emerging technology to create and scale experiences designed around people. Barry is also a certified NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) practitioner.
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