Lego has opened its most experiential store yet in New York City, with new concepts that combine digital and physical elements.

The 7,175 sq ft store on New York’s iconic Fifth Avenue spans two floors and will align with the brand’s new ‘retailtainment’ concept, elements of which will be added to more than 100 stores over the coming months.

Vice-president of global retail development Simone Sweeney told Retail Week: “We really based the new concept on the premise of retailtainment, allowing us to use both the physical and the digital to bring the brick-in-hand experience to life.”

The concept was designed following two years of engagement with shoppers and children to learn more about what they wanted from their visits to a Lego store. 

“They wanted to feel like they were immersed in the world of Lego,” she said. “We have taken some successful aspects of our existing stores like the brick-in-hand play and our 3D models.”

As well as this, the retailer is also adding digital experiences throughout the store. 

Sweeney said: “[The store] mirrors the way that people also play right now. Kids are doing physical building activity with bricks and then jumping onto Minecraft, continuing to build but in the virtual space.”

An example of this digital experience is The Brick Lab, a world-first for the brand. Shoppers must complete a mission within the lab by first building an object from Lego bricks. This physical object is then scanned and rendered into a virtual form on the screens of the lab. Further touchscreens, lighting and sound effects accompany this experience.

Facial recognition also features in store, allowing visitors to meet a virtual Lego minifigure that mimics their facial expression and movements. 

Lego has also acknowledged customer demand for personalised experiences. Shoppers can bring a personalised souvenir home from the store by creating a physical mini-figure or a Lego portrait of themselves in the Personalisation Studio. 

The Lego group currently has around 731 stores in 50 countries. The company plans to open a further 120 new stores this year. 

Ecommerce is also an important channel for Lego. In 2020, the number of visitors to its Lego.com online store doubled to a quarter of a billion.